Catch Me, I'm Falling
by smiles555fofo
Summary: AU Never did Tsuna expect to befriend unlucky and popular boys. Nor did she expect a man to tell her that he was in an exorcism society. But when a revolutionary war erupts between demon and man, this was a tyranny that she can't avoid. 00FEM2780
1. Chapter 1

**Catch Me, I'm Falling**

**Summary:** AU Never did she expect to befriend unlucky and popular boys. Nor did she expect a man to tell her that he was in an exorcism society. But when a revolutionary war erupts between demon and man, this was a tyranny that she can't avoid. 00FEM2780

**Notes: **This story will contain supernatural things: demons, angels, reapers, exorcists, and other things that I cannot think of. Yet.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KHR. DUR.

**Warnings: **This has female Tsuna. You know the motto: Don't like, don't read. Or just imagine that you are Tsuna instead Tsuna being Tsuna.

* * *

He was one of the transfer students who began attending to her school after the day of the earthquake. Because of the disaster that recently occurred, their home was demolished. They decided to move to Namimori since it was apparently free of natural chaos.

From what Tsuna had observed, the Shimon students were an odd bunch: different appearances, different personalities, different sizes, different everything to the extent. Like putting the color orange and blue together; or black and white; or yellow and purple. They contradicted each other, yet remained close as a group.

Tsuna believed it was because since they went to the same school, they were acquainted with one another and wasn't sure how to come to terms with students from another school. It could be that they were shy, unsure of how to get along with strangers. Well, that belief faltered immediately. Indeed the Shimon students were odd, but they can also be mysterious, confident, loud, violent, scary, weird, very weird, cool, simple, and the list could go on.

But they were all unique, in a sense, as the days passed and Tsuna witnessed them more and more. And they all were loyal with one another. That bond was just hidden underneath the exterior actions; nevertheless, the relationship was strong and unbreakable. But why they were so loyal and what connection they share was confusing. Almost paradoxical for one who takes the time to ponder of such.

Nevertheless, Kozato Enma was the least bewildering person out of all the Shimon students. Henceforth, he was obviously not as extraordinary as his fellow companions and was quite plain. _In fact,_ he presented himself quite lamely in front of Tsuna's class; it was a stark opposite introduction of how P. Shitt had performed. But it was reassuring that he was not that abnormal.

Yet Tsuna couldn't help but feel pity for the new student. With his shy demeanor, quiet voice, and inferior, thin stature, he was a prime victim for bullies. He must have been bullied in his old school considering the bandages and cuts on his face. He reminded of her somewhat, except her bullies were loneliness and the disregards of acknowledgement. Instead of bullies coming to her like how bullies come to Enma, people avoided her. It was understandable, people didn't want to be found accompanying Dame-Tsuna and be regarded as a useless person's friend. Whether it may be disgraceful, no fun, or a twist in their reputation, Tsuna was a loner.

And yet despite their similarities, Enma had the other transfer students with him. They do not protect him from bullies, but blatantly imply that he was weak and pathetic, especially that third-year boy who wore glasses. However, they would tend to his wounds and admonish him for not standing up for himself, saying that he was far better than the harassers and could bring them down to their knees if he desired so. Thus, it was an exaggeration that merely provoked more conflict upon the boy.

What a strange relationship they all share. Having their ups and downs, rights and wrongs, good and bad. They were befuddling and peculiar. As if out of this planet. But even so, Tsuna had the weirdest feeling that she and Enma shared the same hardship but were completely different. Perhaps that he wasn't as sociable as she was. Perhaps they were both mocked in a similar pattern. Perhaps they were clumsy at everything. Was that the familiarity Tsuna felt? And what ways were they different? That…he was a boy and that she was a girl? There was definitely more to it, but what?

It was a struggle that Tsuna could not get out of, and she didn't know why she was so absorbed with curiosity about the Shimon students. When did this happen? How did this happen? Why did this happen? Questions all relating to one another unanswered. And it was merely something that she should not concern about. So she turned away from the prying and continued on failing at school, oblivious of what extraordinary adventure she must overcome in the future.

/00/

He had the same homeroom class with her when they were first-years and up to now. He didn't know who she was and yet she knew very well who he was. Of course, who didn't? And with everyone flocking him, receiving the emanation of his happy grins, and calling out his name as if it was a spell that would bring out the bright sunny days, how was it possible to _not _who he was?

Of course, it wasn't the same with Tsuna.

For the past fourteen years, nothing has changed; the days went on like reruns—over and over and over again. Nothing changed! And because of this, this had lead her to an awful illness of which her mother was oblivious to because Tsuna managed to conceal it whenever she returned home, and the case was called depression.

Depression: a desperate need for liberation of this terrible universe, however, obviously there was no way that she could be rescued, thus the callous of her desperation hardened whilst her mind developed over time. Of course, now she was more thoughtful than her fellow peers and was rather cynical, but her shy exterior and interior did not falter whatsoever considering that it was her natural persona in which she cannot get rid of—no matter how weary her soul was, she was still Tsuna.

Either way, Tsuna disregarded the people around her and was not, at all, interested in what they were engaged with. There was no reluctance in her motive; merely the neglect of others and the idleness of anything that occurred around her, unless it actually does involve her. The absence of ambition yet the endeavor of making out alive in each day were paradoxical; nevertheless, one would conclude that she was living her life as if it was to be her Dying Will.

But because of the stages to her attitude in the years prior, this distanced herself from the students at her school, not that she ever established a friendship or acquaintanceship with her classmates before. Her classmates and more wary students were aware about the Dame-Tsuna—the girl who failed at everything she does: athleticism, academics, and popularity. Of course, due to her new nature, she was aloof about the circumstances of being a loner. However, it did sadden her because she was lonely, but never was able to admit it.

Yet what does it matter? Dame-Tsuna, whether she changes or not, will remain as Dame-Tsuna and will be acknowledged nothing more but the clumsy girl who cannot accomplish anything. Except being a failure. Somehow she managed to endure the irritation and sorrow she began to build whenever she would hear the students whisper "Dame-Tsuna" as she walks by. If this was so, then she must endure being a failure. It might construct her patience, really.

One would assume that she would be how she is forever; Tsuna, apparently, didn't like the belief but couldn't quite bring herself to disagree fully. After all, fourteen years of hardship and misfortune, there were barely any considerations of her with a satisfying life.

How much would it differ if she switched roles with Yamamoto Takeshi?

Obviously, she would have a nice life while Yamamoto would suffer from misfortune. Oh, how great would it be to have luck on her side? Very. And would she be lonely? Never.

That was the gap that separated Tsuna and Yamamoto; she could barely comprehend how the boy is always so joyous everyday, even when he receives a bad test grade! It was as if he was gifted with a variety: skills, looks, personality, smiles…Heck, he could easily charm a cold-hearted hag!

There was a definite line between them; there was no way that they could relate to one another. Perhaps through horrible grades, but Tsuna couldn't easily laugh it off—failing every time pained her, knowing that she was nowhere near improving. However, Yamamoto was idle in these circumstances and was never reluctant on grinning away, the entire class also addicted to his humorous ways. Except for Tsuna…and strangely the Shimon students as well.

While she sensed a familiar connection with Enma, she sensed a great distance from him. Of course, the popular boy who everybody loved would never experience hardships that Dame-Tsuna would go through. And, likely, he would never know. Sometimes she wished that he knew about such difficulty about life, about getting up everyday and be aware of what is coming per day. Sometimes she wished that he would at least recognize her and, well, offer a hand like how a gentleman should do. Sometimes she wished that Yamamoto would notice her and smile at her. But he never did. He did with every single girl. He never did with her.

It frustrated her that she was hardly noticed by anyone—especially Yamamoto, who knows practically everyone. But it was as if he didn't know that her existence was still here. Why doesn't he see her? How invisible is she? Why does he make her dislike him so much? She did not like him because of his disregards or actual hardship; his naivety insufferable to see everyday. And it was merely something that she should not concern about. So she turned away from the prying and continued on failing at school, oblivious of what extraordinary adventure she must overcome in the future.

/00/

The morning went by as usual: wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, and exit out the house knowing that another miserable day was coming. Another miserable day…another miserable and boring life of Sawada Tsuna.

So after the morning ritual, her way to school went as usual: walk alone, hear the bird chirping, feel exhausted from waking up, see a group of bullies pulverizing some kid…

One bully looked up and snorted, "Oh look, it's Dame-Tsuna. Let's get out of here before we catch her bad luck." The other boys agreed and retreated while snickering at their friend's joke. Tsuna rolled her eyes and wondered if she was now considered to be some bully repellent.

She turned to the mess the bullies had left: papers were scattered everywhere and books were torn, and in the middle of the remains of a hurricane was a boy—to be exact, it was one of the Shimon transfers. Tsuna furrowed her eyebrows and inquired to herself what possibly could a Shimon student do to cause a horde of harassers to pummel him. She tilted her head, seeing a mop of red hair and a bandaged face: Kozato Enma. Of course.

She stood there, and thinking to herself what should she do in such crisis. Should she walk away and forget that this had ever happen? Should she help him out? Tsuna brushed her locks over her shoulder and sighed. It might do her some good if she did a deed benefitting Enma, and God above might see her and bless her by finally giving her a day without bad luck. Well, why contemplate about it now? She bent down and picked up the papers, neatly stacking them on top of each other, and faced Enma who was struggling to get up. He looked at her and mumbled something that sounded like a "thank you", received the stack, and hastily shoved it into his book-bag.

Well, so much for organizing it for him, Tsuna thought. She picked up a tattered book and handed it to him. "Here," she said. Enma thanked her again in his usual inaudible tone and stuffed it into his bag—which looked like it was going to explode any second now. But before he did stuff it in, by the time he reached for the book, Tsuna took notice of a ring on his finger. She blinked at the detail: it was somewhat large for a ring and has a flat surface shaped as a shield; on the surface was a peculiar design about parallel lines running horizontally with random angling positions. It was even more peculiar when there were tear-shaped jewels peeking through the lines. It had an uncanny appearance of a bandaged block with blood seeping at the cracks.

When he withdrew his hand, Tsuna blinked again to regain her focus away from the strange ring. Suddenly, the boy stalked away with a quick pace, as if running away. Of course, he wasn't running away from her, but he always just moved away from everybody like he didn't want to stay near them. As if they were going to hurt him. That was something that Tsuna could not understand. Why does he always want to distance himself from others or isolate himself? It's not like everybody is a bully; Tsuna is definitely not a bully. But it just seems that he is convinced that everybody is.

While walking, her eyes scrutinized the receding form of Kozato Enma until he was not visible. Her attention was drawn back to the ring that he wore. Did he wear that before? How weird. Such eerie-looking object should not be worn by a fragile boy; it didn't look good on him. It was like those jewelries that gothic-lolita folks would decorate themselves with; except it didn't appear like cheap jewelry, but it seriously did seem as if it held a high quality, an expansive value.

Tsuna realized that she was strangely attracted to the eerie ring, ascertaining that perhaps she was drawing into the interests of things like black magic and other dark, scary stuff. She shuddered. It would be hell till she would be caught into things like that. Nevertheless, she recalled specifically of the red beaded gems embedded upon the surface glimmered luminously, glowing even in broad daylight. The signification of probable blood was beautiful, yet gave her chills that ran down her spine when she envisioned the ring once more. Perhaps the gems were the object of her attention.

Inside her classroom at school, she took notice of Kozato Enma and P. Shitt already seated. Enma being his usual quiet self—trying to conceal himself with zero acknowledgement—and P. Shitt causing an extravagant show with her alien language and robotic movements, and then changed into flowing dance-like waves. When Tsuna's eyes landed on Enma, unexpectedly, their eyes met. She quickly looked away and from the corner of her eye Enma, too, averted his attention elsewhere. She let out a small sigh and walked to her seat.

Behind her, Yamamoto Takeshi made his appearance whilst wearing his same casual smile and cheerful salutations. Classmates eagerly returned the greeting and a couple boys were making a conversation with him already. Tsuna looked away from the scene, resisting the jealousy of the apparent friendship established between Yamamoto and every single person. In. The. Universe.

However, she turned her head back to him when she overheard the dialogue.

"Dude, you can't be serious."

Yamamoto sheepishly laughed. "Heh, yeah. Sorry."

"Man, you busted your arm—your throwing arm! Did you explain this to the coach?"

"Yeah. He told me to sit out until my arm gets better. Too bad, eh?"

Yamamoto was scratching his head with his left arm, the arm that was not wrapped inside a bulky cast. Tsuna eyed the injured limb as she wondered how he broke his arm.

"How'd you break your arm?" asked a boy.

"Over practiced. I guess I was pushing myself too hard."

"You definitely did."

Tsuna couldn't agree more. She wondered why Yamamoto was trying too hard recently when he was already capable of being a fabulous player. In spite of everything, he was Namimori's baseball star. Would there be any reason to his motivation? Perhaps he desired to upgrade his competence. Well, that's fantastic; he wants to push himself harder, therefore become even stronger. But it was quite ridiculous to go to the extent of injuring himself.

"Oh, Takeshi-kun, what happened?" A group of girls huddled before him, expressing their concern of his catastrophe.

Yamamoto gave them a nonchalant wave and a reassuring grin. "Nothing to worry about; it's just cast on my broken arm."

"Does it hurt?" a girl asked.

"Nah. At first it did when I busted it, but it's all right."

"Is there anything we can do for you?"

He tapped his chin, and then replied, "Cheer for the baseball team to win for the upcoming game next week?"

"Okay!" all the girls simultaneously answered, and then giggled.

Tsuna inwardly gagged at the sight. She could understand why girls would have crushes on the boy. She could understand how the boy caught their interests. What she couldn't understand was that why they would openly behave like children by giggling at everything he said—which did not seem to be funny at all. Did he say a joke? No. Did he mean it to be funny? No. So why giggle?

Tsuna slumped into her seat, answering her own question. Why did they impulsively act? It was because their feminine side kicked in whenever the source of their attraction radiates a good aura. Or so Tsuna insinuated it to be. Not that she would really know—she didn't exactly had a female friend to know why girls were like this. She also concluded that it was the hormones—the acne, pimples, and the change in behavior are obvious as they all grow older. But because she is isolated with nothing but loneliness, she wouldn't know.

But this was one of the great things of being a loner: you didn't appear as a moron. Well, a moron who attempted on being flirtatious relentlessly. It was somewhat humorous watching from the sidelines, witnessing girls trying their hardest to obtain Yamamoto's attention and get him to smile—which cannot be very hard at all. Yamamoto was quite easy to please, when you think about it. If one were to give him his old rusty bat, Yamamoto would smile cheerfully and bestow his gratitude. If one were to congratulate him on his test grade—even when it was obviously very bad—Yamamoto would sheepishly laugh and scratch his head.

That was one of the reasons why people liked Yamamoto: he was an easy-going guy who loved having fun. He just has a characteristic that draws people in to him, like a magnet. And Tsuna, in actuality, felt a small attraction towards the tall boy, though knew it would be a waste of time thinking about such. After all, why would Yamamoto Takeshi look at her? She was simple, plain, and boring.

Tsuna looked at Enma, who now stuck his nose into his book. At the moment, she wanted to sigh aloud. It was pitiful, but Enma and Tsuna were nearly one in the same, if it weren't for those other Shimon students, that is. It was strange, but Kozato Enma did have friends; even the weird P. Shitt was his pal or some sort. Well, the way they interacted with one another could be regarded as friendship, but it more of a mixture of a formal and disrespectful relationship. How odd.

But despite the very fact, Enma and Tsuna were misfits; they were unable to become known or disguise well in a crowd. It was as if they had an unlucky cloud hovering above their heads wherever they go. While they were abandoned in the shadows, Yamamoto was the brightest star placed further away from the two. But, of course, Enma was much closer to being a star than Tsuna was; she never did acquire a friend.

But even if Enma with the nearest distance to wonderful recognition, he was yet miles away from that goal. If he desired that goal anyway. How would it be if she was as popular as Yamamoto? Oh, how would it be? Clearly Yamamoto must love being the baseball star of the school and being the main attraction of his many adoring fans. Of course he would. Who wouldn't?

As the bell rang, classes commencing on the first lesson, Tsuna bend over to retrieve a book from her bag, and that was when she recognized the glint from Enma's ring.

/00/

The day ended tiredly; it was a relief to everybody when the bell ended the day, thus returning to their comfy homes and loving families. However, it was rather different for two unfortunate students: Tsuna and Enma. They were assigned to finish cleaning duty, which was strange considering how cleaning duty would consist of about one-thirds of the class instead of a few.

Oh brother, Tsuna thought, the others must be ditching their responsibilities. Might as well get it over with. Beside her was Enma, who was standing in the corner with his shoulders slumped over and his bangs covering his weary gaze. Tsuna felt like sighing, believing that working with the Shimon student would be awkward since he was not much of a talker; even the other students who was aware of Dame-Tsuna wouldn't hesitate on creating a simple, idle conversation with her. But at least they could accomplish the chore quicker.

Tsuna dusted her skirt and walked towards to the closet to fetch a broom and a dust-holder. "Um…Do you want to clean the board?" she asked. Without a reply, Enma grabbed an eraser and diligently removed the markings.

It was soon after that the two students have accomplished the chore. There were moments where Tsuna would ask Enma questions about if he wanted to take out the trash or dust the erasers, and he would not answer but obediently do the job. It made Tsuna guilty of unintentionally making the boy do these things; the poor guy must think that she _liked _having him doing all the work; therefore she worked just as hard as he did so that Enma wouldn't be pushing himself too hard.

With the cleaning duty done, Tsuna smiled at the success the two done with spare time compared to how it was with the other students. She turned around to see Enma, with his bag slung over his shoulder, already leaving the classroom. So much for celebrating. She sighed and left the room as well, treading slowly behind Enma, who was quickening his pace. When the two exited through the back doors about the same time, the boy suddenly halted, causing Tsuna to stumble on her brakes. She blinked by the unforeseen reaction while looking at Enma with confusion. Why did he stop instead of keep walking?

"There's someone there," he said, still not facing her but have his eyes locked upon the roof.

Tsuna was surprised that Enma, for once, had spoken loud enough for a person to hear clearly, though she wasn't quite sure. 'There's someone there'? What kind of statement was that? She elevated her stare to the roof as well, trying to see what had captured the timid boy's attention. There, she noticed a shadow looming over the two teenagers, which startled her.

"What?" Tsuna tentatively took a step back, but her eyes were locked upon the unknown figure above her.

"He can't see us," Enma said, his eyes narrowing. "Wait—Yamamoto Takeshi?"

"Huh?" Tsuna looked at him. "What? What's going on?"

"I don't know. He's just standing there." Alone on a roof? Or was the entire baseball team there as well? The Shimon student raised his shoulders and dropped them—a shrug. "Must be a false alarm."

He abandoned his observation and dragged his feet into a slow tread. Tsuna frowned, feeling foolish for being overly cautious for basically nothing. She began following behind him when she saw Yamamoto's face making its appearance as he stepped forward, and strangely, its expression was rather apathetic compared to his usual cheerful grins. His toes were dangling from the ledge, his back against the black fence that was meant to keep students from falling off the roof. However, Yamamoto was dangerously close to tipping over since he crossed the barrier.

There was a bad feeling in her gut. "Um." Enma, unaware of where Yamamoto was now standing, did not turn around. She was feeling nervous now. "K-Kozato-san!" she yelled in a hoarse whisper.

Fortunately, Enma heard her and turned around. Then he froze when he noticed Yamamoto, who didn't even detect his classmates yet. "Wh-What in the world?" he mumbled.

It was an immediate realization. "He—He's going to commit suicide!" She went to him and said, "Hurry! Go up and stop Yamamoto-san! I'll—I'll stay here and try to catch him if you don't make it in time."

Enma owlishly blinked, his eyes widened from Tsuna's quick instructions. "I…" He shook his head, and then nodded. Not even close to a second, Enma vanished. Tsuna was awed by his rapid feet movements and wondered why he couldn't use his speed to escape from his bullies. But never mind that now! She had to focus on Yamamoto—the suicidal idiot! Why on earth would he want to perpetrate self-murder?

She really did not know why. Could it be that the star baseball player was actually depressed about something? But what could he possibly be depressed about? He had everything! He had admirers, friends, popularity, and everything! It didn't make sense why he would want to end it all by jumping off the great height. Why did he want to loose such blessing as Yamamoto Takeshi? Why did he?

His shadow was hovering over her head, and she drew in small, short breathes as nervousness and fright overwhelmed her, but not enough to keep an eye on the boy. Yamamoto moved his head side to side in a slow motion, taking in the view that he was seeing before him. A faint smile was plastered upon his face, but it was not at all genuine or happy, but a forced jerk of his muscles. It actually looked familiar, then Tsuna's eyes widened from realization: Yamamoto's smiles were often like the smile she was seeing right now. Does that mean that he was forcing his smiles all the time? And what about his laughter? His friendly gestures? What about everything that Yamamoto is? Is that what Yamamoto really is?

How could have nobody had noticed this before? Of course, Tsuna being the one who would idly observe form the sidelines, why didn't _she_ notice it? For none of the classmates to see the strained grins, he must have cleverly concealed them with the usual actions he used when they were first-years. Then does that mean he was disheartened back then? What could it be?

The boy withdrew a deep breath, and then breathed out. He closed his eyes and reopened them, along came with a simple smile, but it wasn't strained at all—it was genuine. He averted his attention to his cast and sighed a word; Tsuna, considering how the only noises that filled the silence were the winds and other students who were staying after school due to clubs shouting at one another from a far distance, heard him say 'baka'. Baka? Idiot? Tsuna blinked from confusion. Since there was no one who he could refer to, that would mean he was calling himself an idiot. But why?

He took a step away from the ledge and gave a mirthless laugh. Tsuna sighed in relief; he wasn't going to kill himself now. At least he grew some common sense; committing suicide…what would that bring anyway? "Huh?" Tsuna froze when she saw his eyes glanced at her. "Wait…you're—"

"Don't do it!"

Enma, sprinting towards Yamamoto, thrust his arms and grabbed a handful of his white shirt. The Shimon student's actions startled Yamamoto, therefore unconsciously turning around to where the shout originated; unfortunately, while he was turning, his foot did not touch solid concrete but rather nothingness air. With Yamamoto tipping over and his full weight having no support, he was diving off of the roof meanwhile bringing Enma along in the plummet. Tsuna had a glimpse of both boys' eyes: Yamamoto's was out of pure shock whilst Enma's appeared…to be glazing out of frustration? His teeth were showing, his lips forming a grimacing scowl, and this all happened when Yamamoto failed to balance himself.

She gasped loudly; she was witnessing both boys falling off of a height that could conclude an instant death: the break of the neck; the break of the ribcage; the break of every single bone in the body; and whatever that would terminate a person's life, which paint the grounds a nasty color of red. The acceleration of the divers seemed to be moving in a slow motion, and it stirred sentiments of absolute horror and hysteria.

For a moment, Tsuna was able to visualize the future: everybody would be bursting with sorrow with their favorite jock gone; everybody would not be as emotional with the bully target gone. Enma…would anybody miss him? They would probably be aghast with the knowledge of somebody attending to their school died on campus, but surely that information would be forgotten, however, the other Shimon students definitely wouldn't overlook the situation. Would they be in distress?

And what about Yamamoto? Well, the girls in her class will have their dreams crushed of having their knight-in-shining-armor dead. The baseball team would be dismayed by such loss of a fantastic pitcher and batter. The teachers would miss the boy's humorous jokes and comments because, really, who else would enlighten their day? But…would everybody be in sorrow because of what Yamamoto is given, not what he really is? Tsuna recalled the times where all students and teachers would talk to him, have fun with him, and loved his refreshing presence. But is it all because of what he emanated? What did they truly think about him?

In fact, what _did _people think about Enma and Yamamoto? What did Tsuna think about those two?

Enma was one of the transfer students who began attending to her school after the day of the earthquake. Because of the disaster that recently occurred, their home was demolished. They decided to move to Namimori since it was apparently free of natural chaos. From what Tsuna had observed, the Shimon students were an odd bunch: different appearances, different personalities, different sizes, different everything to the extent. Like putting the color orange and blue together; or black and white; or yellow and purple. They contradicted each other, yet remained close as a group. Because of this, it is obvious that there is something more to Enma that she had not realized.

As for Yamamoto…he had the same homeroom class with her when they were first-years and up to now. He didn't know who she was and yet she knew very well who he was. Of course, who didn't? And with everyone flocking him, receiving the emanation of his happy grins, and calling out his name as if it was a spell that would bring out the bright sunny days, how was it possible to _not _who he was? Indeed people liked him, but Tsuna didn't really. It could be of one simple reason: he did not acknowledge her existence.

But…But Yamamoto…What did Tsuna ever do to Yamamoto? Nothing. That was why he didn't know her. She did not talk to him or do anything that catches his attention. Perhaps that was how Enma was living his life: hiding himself from being noticed. But why did he want that? So that he could hide away from bullies?

Would it affect her if they disappeared?

"N-No!"

She screamed. Tears cascaded. Feet moved.

A great weight landed on top of her.

**

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**Notification: **Wow. I am proofreading this and what I have to say is that I am not sure how to continue this. Anyway, I know that 00FEM2780 is quite rare; in fact, this is probably the first one ever to be published on Fanfic. I am sure. I know that there's traditional Tuna Sandwich, 182769. And there's 592780, 592769, and…Well, from this on out, lets try to be fun and creative! I'm sure there is going to be a RyoheiXTsunaXSpanner, ByakuranXTsunaXBasil…I ran out of ideas…


	2. Chapter 2

**Catch Me, I'm Falling**

**NOTIFICATION: **Thank you for those who reviewed this! And because of your encouraging words, I was motivated to create another chapter! I didn't expect to receive that much reviews for 00FEM2780. UNBELIEAVBLE. I also want to thank Happy2Bme for advising me on how to make a story flow better—did you take a special writing class? I had no idea there were ways to make a story flow better…

THANK YOU EVERYONE!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own KHR. DUR.

* * *

Yamamoto thought and thought, questioned and questioned, yet there was no answer. And all this occurred whilst his death plummet directed to the ground before him. Strangely, everything seemed to be moving in a slower pace, like in the movies when the screen is focusing upon the scene in slow-motion in order for the viewers to witness the happenings in a closer observation. Perhaps this was what actors experience when they jump off of an elevated area for the movie. The air whipping against his face as the tall frame of his body cuts through it, the green plain gradually spreads into a wider form, his eyes closing, and the clutches of the Shimon transfer tightening on his shirt.

It was such a pity that Yamamoto had to drag down the guy along with him. All he intended on doing was prevent him from making the leap, even when he decided not to commit the uncertain chance. However, he was going to die anyway, and he was going to die with the boy in front of a bystander. Heck, he didn't even know his name—he introduced himself in front of the class on his first day, but his voice was so quiet that the teacher had to announce it for him. Yamamoto even forgot what the name was considering he had a lot in mind; the boy didn't even bother doing anything other than being the main target for bullies, so how was Yamamoto supposed to know?

Now he was going to die and depart from this life. It was a good life, but not good enough. Yamamoto regretted not leaving a letter for his old man and telling him how much he loved and admired him. Yamamoto hoped that the baseball team won't feel too down about missing a batter and a pitcher. But now it would be over. Despite the efforts he put up with, his abilities had not increased from their original status. In fact, they merely demoted, hence Yamamoto rendered to be slower and loss of concentration. Everything…Everything was out of order. It wasn't right. So he tried again and again and again. It still wasn't right. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he develop into a better player?

That wasn't the only reason.

Yamamoto verified something from his long observations: Everyone was…faking. He thought they were his friends. He thought they were there for him always. But that belief faltered immediately when realization hit him. The baseball team welcomed him because they approved of his talents and that it would benefit them in every game. The girls in his class were friendly, but he knew that none of them would understand if he confided them of his desperation; they would likely see him as a bizarre lunatic than the boy who they would see everyday at school. The teachers…It wouldn't feel comfortable if he told them. And his father? His old man is the greatest dad ever, however, Yamamoto feared about him knowing. He didn't want his father to be fretting over his pitiful sake; it isn't worth it.

His mind was disoriented as he was in midair. With gravity pulling him downwards, he was acquainted with the sensation of utter lightness, and it was somewhat exhilarating. The way his feet were dangling in the duration of freefalling rather than implanted upon the grounds was a sensational feeling. It was funny, but he felt like a fluffy cloud than being dragged away by gravitational force. It was going to be over soon. His life. His family. His "friends". His beloved game of baseball. His life. Everything was going to be over soon.

And he was so scared.

"Crap." Yamamoto's eyes opened. Did he hear that correctly? Did the Shimon transfer actually say something audible? How could he when the winds made it difficult to conduct speech? He definitely wasn't shouting. Perhaps his ears muted the brushing of air and heard the transfer mutter.

"No!" Did he hear that one as well? It didn't sound like the boy, but a high-pitched scream—a girl. Who was it that he caught seeing below him again? Ah. Yes, that's right; the girl was Dame-Tsuna, as everyone called Sawada Tsunayoshi. Like the Shimon student, she too was hardly noticed by his fellow peers.

As Yamamoto was falling, there was a connection between his body and solid ground. That was when Yamamoto Takeshi had died from impact.

Well, not quite.

He did not die, in fact; he did not envision a flashing white light and see heaven's gates before him. No. That did not happen. What happen was that he suddenly blanked out, and then regained his sight after going through a blurry and lightheaded stage. There was no feeling of pain, or even the earth beneath his body. He wasn't hurt, however, felt tremendously weak—it was as if the energy was sucked out of him. Yamamoto gritted his teeth to prevent the nausea to overwhelm him and clenched the grass with his fists—wait, grass?

Yamamoto's eyes shot wide open and frantically looked around. He was not floating anymore but on the ground—it wasn't splattered with blood nor have his limbs spread everywhere. Was…Was this all a dream? Did he actually fall off of the roof? Or perhaps this was what the initiation of death is like? Something had loosened—the Shimon transfer's clench on his shirt…Wait, if he was on the ground with him, then that would mean that the incident had really occurred…! But how was it possible? He just fell off a roof and with that incredible height he should have died by impact! How could he still be alive? How in the world was it possible? What—what was going on?

"We're sitting on her," the transfer said in a monotone.

"Huh?" He looked down and saw Dame-Tsuna sprawled beneath them. "N-No way." He immediately got off her and hoisted her up with the grab of her shoulders. Her expression was that in soreness and a small whimper was heard from her lips. "What? How was she underneath us?"

"She…caught us."

Yamamoto's eyes widened. "She _caught _us?" he repeated incredulously. "That's not possible!"

The boy merely shrugged; his gaze still upon the grounds. "What other explanation would confirm us still having our lives?"

He still couldn't believe it. She caught them? It really was impossible. With both of their weights joined together, it would be very obvious that withstanding that many kilograms while dropping off a ridiculously high height would be too much for her to handle. Only a really macho man could catch it yet suffer from difficulty. This was a phenomenon! "No way. No way."

Dame-Tsuna let out another whimper, and then managed to utter the words, "Set me down!"

"O-Oh! S-Sorry." He gently rested her on her back. As soon as she was lying, she curled up into a small ball and clutched her torso. Yamamoto panicked a bit. "Um, does it hurt anywhere else?"

"N-No, j-just he-here and there. I'll be all right, I guess," Tsuna huffed wearily.

"You don't seem fine. I'm sure being pelted with two grown guys is something to be considered as an emergency," he insisted. "I should take you to the hospital."

"No, really, I'm fine." Dame-Tsuna struggled to sit up and Yamamoto supported her by holding her from her back. "Ow. Thanks," she said, "but…if you don't mind me saying, what I'm concerned about is that why you jumped off that roof."

Yamamoto was taken back from the pained comment and glanced at the transfer. "I didn't… He, well, was trying to stop me from jumping, but didn't know that I changed my mind."

"No, wait, that wasn't what I meant. I saw that you were changing your mind, but…but why did you want to before that?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

He averted his gaze just like how the boy did it, only too ashamed to even look at her in the eye anymore. "Heh, I guess it was due to my depression," he dryly chuckled.

He didn't see it, but he could picture her eyes widening from disbelief. Her bewildered tone was an addition to this inward illustration. "What?"

"I know it might be…hard to imagine me being depressed. I know that I'm usually this easy-going guy, but a lot of things happened to me recently."

"But…I don't understand. What could you possibly be depressed about?"

Yamamoto did not know why. He really did not know why. But he was admitting something that has been troubling him to someone. And that someone wasn't someone who he knew quite well. Dame-Tsuna and he are practically strangers. He heard of her, but never really did get to know her personally. She likely have heard about him, but never confronted him. "I'm failing. At everything. It's as if baseball is turning against me. My friends aren't my real friends. And…I'm so confused about everything. I-I just sometimes wish that I could escape this world." His eyes concentrated on his cast; the light blue color of the bandages was deriding. "What's good if there's _nothing _that can't go right?"

When he lifted his head, he saw the Shimon transfer staring off into space, but he had a feeling that he was listening to his confession, probably by a little. When he lifted his head, he saw the sky in hues of fire as the evening was encountering, the black frames of the birds that soared close to the sun, the school was still in place, and so was the roof of where he once stood. When he lifted his head, he saw Dame-Tsuna, as before, looking at him in disbelief. And what shocked him was that her expression turned into that of grim and worry.

"What's good when nothing can go right?" she quoted, her voice strained. "Of course nothing can go right! That's what makes life, life."

"You don't understand; it's hard. Everybody expects everything from me. It's truly hard and I can't take it anymore." He sighed. "And how can I do anything when my arm's busted? It's useless."

"No, that's not right. Everybody doesn't expect that much from you. You're just imagining things; it's just _you _who thinks of those things, and you don't have to live up to those expectations. As long as you try your hardest…"

"Well how can I now? My arm's busted and I can't seem to trust anyone anymore."

She let out an exasperated groan. "There's no point if you just give up!"

"There_ is_ no point! Jeez, I knew it! No one can understand me," Yamamoto grumbled aloud, his patience wearing thin. His desperation was getting the better of him, and he attempted to calm down his anxiety, however, his emotions were flowing out, releasing a chokehold that secured the cry he desired to scream. But what good would it do if he no longer suppressed it? What good would it do if he frightened Dame-Tsuna? What good would it do to hear her reply when it was utterly futile? Obviously, she did not understand how _hard _he had worked. All that hard work concluded a _pointless _result.

"I-I'm trying," his female classmate insisted, "but I just can't understand why you would give up because of those things! In fact, I know the detestable difficulty that you're in, but why lingering over those things when you could easily move on? They're not worth being sad for!"

"But I am! I am and I have nowhere to go."

"That's—that's cowardly. You should know better; you shouldn't let this get you!"

First she says that she understood him and now she is calling him a coward? Yamamoto pressed his lips into a thin line, and then said, "How could you even think that you would possibly understand the hell I have been going through? I'm confused and lost, and you're just making it worse by telling me that my depression isn't depression at all? Then why am I stranded? Why am I frustrated? Why am I always tempted to kill myself whenever I got the chance? What makes you possibly _think _that you know what true depression is when you never experienced it yourself?" he cried tiredly.

Dame-Tsuna's eyes widened, and then her lips quivered. "You…" She then shoved Yamamoto out of the way and staggered onto her feet, wincing from the movement and making it apparent that she was aching from the ribcage. Nevertheless, she stubbornly stifled the weakened state. Her eyes were now watering and Yamamoto couldn't understand why. "You are wrong."

"I'm wrong?" he repeated incredulously.

"You are upset that you broke your arm? Then be patient till it recovers! It isn't as if the world is going to end!" Tears nearly were about to cascade down her reddened cheeks. "Your friends aren't real? Well it's certainly about time that you have noticed. Open you eyes and see who is who!"

Yamamoto's eyes widened and he was surprised, but did not utter a word.

Dame-Tsuna bit her lower lip as fists clenched. "I-I…I find it stupid that you were about to commit suicide over such a stupid thing. You have such a great life. Everyone likes you. Everyone! You could do whatever you wanted and could easily wipe away your sadness! And me? I'm always stuck in the corner of the room with solitude as a leech. No matter how hard I try, I can't get rid of it."

"But I…What? What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that it's _you _who don't understand anything at all, Yamamoto Takeshi! Everyone admires you, everyone sees me as nothing. Everyone wants to be with you, everyone wants to leave me. You're bright, fun, and great while I'm…I'm just a dull, boring, average person. You don't even realize how hard I try. I relentlessly attempt on making friends, to get rid of this horrid loneliness, but you…you just think that just one stupid arm is going to affect your universe?"

He blinked. "But I never seen you even try…"

"That's because you're always too occupied with your club and classmates to bother looking at me. Of course, what can I expect? You shouldn't look at me because I'm nothing more than _Dame-Tsuna_," she stammered. "And I'm always tired of the same things that happen over and over again. I try. I try. And I'm so sick and tired of it. I'm sick of the way everyone treats me, the way they call me by that blasted name, and more importantly, I'm so _sick _of your stupidity and obliviousness. Assuming that I never understood something so terrifying…I cannot believe it."

"That's what I have been saying! I try and try but—"

"Have you ever been mocked by everyone? Have you ever been picked on and hurt? Have you ever desired to at least laugh and smile? Have you ever been truly _alone_?"

He stared at her, eyes widened. His lips parted and murmured, "I..." She looked back at him with bloodshot eyes that were filled with something: desolate.

Yamamoto sat there, absent-minded and exhausted, zoning off. The Shimon transfer vanished a while ago, and it was probably around the same time that Dame—no, Sawada Tsunayoshi had run away. She left with tears overflowing and that injury she acquired from that impact. He wondered if she was relieved of screaming admonishments at him. Boy, what a day this became.

He thought that she would have awkwardly shifted her position and apologized to him for not noticing before, however, the results were entirely different. She yelled at him and wept, but more importantly she left him something significant to cherish. He didn't know what it was, but he knew that there was a meaning through the lecture. What was more: she saved his life and motivated him to continue this "hell" on earth. It was amazing; this girl conducted a heroic act and given him something to realize, and it was from someone totally unexpected.

Why was it so unforeseen? She went as unnoticed. Someone who no one would bother caring whether she was absent or not, injured or not, living or not. No one didn't care of her existence, whether it was because she didn't have a cheery persona or a pretty figure. In fact, she was tedious and average; nevertheless, there was a way for her to attract attention: being her Dame-Tsuna self. In other words, keep on failing miserably—such as tripping, which is what she does on a daily basis. And due to her lack of success, it did somewhat motivated the students to do better; after all, who wanted to suffer more than _Dame-Tsuna_?

She was quiet. She was a loner. She was unsuccessful. However, despite the bad luck casted upon the poor girl, she earnestly tried her very best. She truly did. She always had a sharp concentrated stare whenever the tests were handed out; she would push herself beyond her limit in order to catch up with the others during P.E; and she would accomplish her part on cleaning duty, unfortunately, sometimes she would accidentally trip and fall over the cleansing items, thus creating a bigger mess for the students—hence her elegance.

She was extremely clumsy. She was incredibly useless. She was competent at being pathetic. And this all concluded one inquiry: How did she manage to _live_? Or rather, how did she manage to even _breathe_? How was it possible for her not to die from choking on a fork that she accidentally shoved into her throat? Or stumble upon a road whilst a fast-moving truck hurdling on by and getting hit and accelerated by the instant impact? If she was so inept, how was she able to steer clear of that kind of misfortune?

Of course…could she be that clumsy? It didn't seem possible for any human to have double left feet or rendered as an ungainly idiot, constantly tumbling and plunging. Always tripping, always falling, always tripping, and always falling. And…And it was…actually pitiful to watch Sawada Tsunayoshi to relentlessly crash and struggle to stand on her feet again. No matter what, she was going to fail. No matter what, she was going to fail. Why couldn't she just give up? Why couldn't she just pull the trigger and get life over with? It would be that simple. Suffocation by hanging; get overdosed with drugs; slit her throat; get mauled by a lion—just anything to terminate this hell on earth. How was it possible for her to continue this routine over and over again? It seemed intolerable for anyone to undergo such a lonesome and hateful lifestyle. What made her be planted firmly, impossible for her to be sway even when times are rough?

Yes, why was she so strong even when she wasn't? She couldn't present before the class and pronounce what she desired to voice; she was too timid for that kind of stunt, however, it would have been quite simple for anyone else. She couldn't confront a bully if he was harassing her; more like allowing him to continue what he was doing until every part of her skin was occupied with bruises. How was she able to live this way? Was she a masochist? Did she _enjoy _her dreadful life? That's…Ridiculous…Of course she didn't. Everyday the girl would come into class looking reluctant and withdrawn, but she was exhausted especially. It was as if each day was becoming more and more repetitive. And she was the one who knew this quite well, perhaps even more than others. Yet why does she keep going? To continue? To persist this life? Why?

Why doesn't she try to make friends? Why doesn't she try to join in conversations? Why doesn't she take risks and go for it? Why doesn't she have confidence in herself? Why does she isolate herself from others? Why couldn't she speak for herself? Why couldn't she make herself acknowledged? Why does she continuously suffer? Why? Why? Why? Why is that?

No, she does. Yet everything she does concludes a bad ending, therefore her misfortune. She was right; he does have the benefits. She doesn't. Yet why did he insist that he was the one suffering the most? He was in the same classes for two years, he knew that she was a loner and did nothing about it. It wasn't that he thought she liked her isolation, the idea of intruding her loneliness never occurred to him. But now…

* * *

Tsuna finished her crying while sitting on one of the swings. She needed to calm herself down before returning back home; she didn't want her mother to see her tears and become worried for her sake. No, that wasn't necessary. For several years she had kept her loneliness hidden and away from her mother. She didn't need to know what was going on with her life. But what would be difficult concealing was her hurting chest—the place where Enma and Yamamoto hand landed. It made breathing rather difficult, not to mention limping. How was she going to explain this to her mother?

She didn't even know how it was possible for both boys and including herself to survive from the impact. From where they had fallen, they should have been severely injured or straight off killed, not doing well and be active. Tsuna coughed—sounded more like a wheeze, her chest aching and making her lungs function poorly. This could be fatal, and she stubbornly refused going to the hospital when Yamamoto suggested it. Well, now she's glad that she didn't gone with him; she wasn't infuriated at him anymore, but regretted ever yelling at him.

He confessed to _her_ ofall people the reason to his near suicidal attempt, entrusting her with a serious importance. While she could have empathized with him of his troubles, she made tensions even worse by belittling him. Perhaps he went back up on the roof to practice self-murder like he intended on doing before. This was all her fault. Why did she have to act on her emotions and just allow the distressed boy vent out how he felt? For the longest time ever, there was someone who didn't see that she wasn't worth speaking to but someone who he could confide to. That was a miracle, astounding. And she ruined it.

"Looks like your condition is worsening."

Kozato Enma was standing before her. He was talking in an audible tone again. He walked through the small bushes, nearly toppling over, and to her. Enma, as always, avoided eye contact in a sheepish manner and continued on with, "You should have gone to the hospital."

"I didn't want my mom to know," Tsuna said, her voice feeble.

He stared at her. "Your face is red and puffy."

"Yeah. That's what I should look like after crying. Oh right, you were there the entire time," she sighed. "That was embarrassing. I completely exploded and hollered at him like a banshee."

"It was actually pretty cool of you."

She looked up, surprised. "What?"

"The way you proclaimed of Yamamoto Takeshi's ignorance allowed him to comprehend the benefits of what he does have and what you don't. I'm sure that he would be more appreciative of things rather than moping about."

"Or that it could driven him to the point where he really wants to kill himself," she muttered.

"Why would he do that?"

"I yelled at him. I-I couldn't express sympathy because my rage took over. It was also the first time that anyone had ever talked to me like the way he did, and…I lost that chance. Argh! I'm such an idiot." Tsuna buried her face into her hands and felt her cheeks emanate heat; she really did let out a furious weep, and it did bring pain to her chest.

Enma pocketed his hands. "Do you see him as that kind of person?" he said.

"I didn't even see him as the type of person to get depression."

"I know that he won't commit suicide for sure."

She raised her head, her eyebrows furrowing. "And what makes you so sure?"

"Because he's not that kind of person."

Tsuna wanted to retort something, but couldn't say it. There was something in Enma's voice that made it sound so convincing, and he said it as if Yamamoto's suicide won't ever take place. So she decided to believe him. Nevertheless, if the death of the baseball star transpires, Tsuna would never be able to live another day without feeling incredible guilt—it was partially her fault after all.

"You know," she murmured idly, "this is the first conversation I ever had that wasn't by intention."

Enma raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, the conversation just came out naturally. Usually when I'm speaking to someone, it would be awkward because I have trouble keeping the other person's interests up," she elaborated hastily. "Ugh. That was a fail."

"Talking about whether Yamamoto Takeshi is debating whether killing himself or not is an unexpected topic to talk about," he commented thoughtfully. He elevated his stare from the ground and to Tsuna. "You were right about what you said to him; you do try."

Tsuna plopped her chin on her palm, sighing. "It's so strange. Both of my parents are likable and could easily obtain a friend, but me? The only best of my ability is to make everything awkward."

"Is it awkward when you talk to your parents?"

"Well, they're my parents; of course it wouldn't be awkward with them."

"Because you're closer to them."

"That's partially it," she sighed. "I don't have to talk about what goes on about rising stars or what I did over the summer or things like that. Sometimes we talk about deeper things such as our dreams, hopes, what my parents' childhood was like and what they did…It's really fun when I'm with them. That's part of the reason why I don't like school."

"People around you seem to not have the time or interest to listen to those things, right?"

"Exactly. I once heard this girl tell her other friend what she did when she visited her grandmother's house—something to do with a cat and a toddler. But from the looks of it, the two were having fun. I just don't know what keeps them going."

"Perhaps the reaction of the person and the replies motivated the speaker to continue."

"I guess so." She sighed again and looked at the sky. "Another thing is that whenever the teacher chooses who I am partnered with, he or she would be distracted by the people sitting next to us because, apparently, that person has something interesting to say than our research. Other than that, I just can't seem to grasp onto my partner's attention because I'm not that social. I-it explains a lot, but I was often the shy child of my primary school, due to the reason why I'm socially retarded." She grasped the chains of the swing and pushed herself slowly.

"That really does explain a lot," he said while tilting his head.

"How about you?"

"Huh?"

"Were you shy when you were small?" she asked.

He paused. "You can say that," he replied. "I don't appear to be a very out-going person, do I?"

"S-sorry to be blunt, but no." Then Tsuna added, "Though you don't appear as someone shy."

He blinked. "I don't?"

"No. I think the kind of person you would be is a calm and canny person, but there is a bit of timidity in your actions."

"Or that I could be overly canny."

Tsuna smiled. "That could be it."

"You don't seem that shy yourself. By the looks of it, I recall you continuously flapping your lips in our conversation."

"Oh. Would that be considered as progress?"

"Probably."

She rocked herself with the motion of her feet pushing against the dirt with more force this time. Enma was looking at her and Tsuna parroted his actions. "I think it might be because you're easy to talk with," she said, smile still in place. "I realized that when I'm here with you, I know what to say and I don't feel alone." Just like friends. "How is it that you don't interact much in class?"

"I choose not to."

"Oh."

When Tsuna looked at Enma, she saw not the quiet boy who she would usually see at school, but a boy with the ability to comprehend and have a great sense of morality. He did not appear as the meek scrawny victim who was picked on by bullies, but someone standing independently against the world. There was something puzzling about him. He wasn't like this before, but now he emits a confident aura. It was as if he took on a transformation that altered his entire persona, however, he was still here as Kozato Enma. Nothing about him changed. But why did he seem so different? Why did he talk so familiarly to her instead of treading away? In fact, why did he come to her and spoke first?

Perhaps this was who Kozato Enma really is. Perhaps he hid his self away because he didn't trust easily. Perhaps he could only depend on the other strange Shimon students. But if that was so, why did he suddenly open up to her and spoke to her so naturally? Often Enma would speak and interact with reluctance, but now she could hear him audibly and could reply back to him with ease. What happened to him that made him different now? Was he going to act this way from now on?

Suddenly, a violent cough erupted from her throat. "O-ouch," she whimpered, rubbing her sore throat.

"It's getting worse," he said. He neared her and dropped something on her lap: it was a small green packet. "Put that into your drink and take it tonight. It should repair damaged muscle tissue."

"Oh, um, thanks. When did you get this?"

"You should know that I get bullied since you drove some away in the morning. I usually get beaten up badly so I would take this medication, and since I get beaten quite a lot I take a handful with me per day."

Tsuna frowned. "Why do you let them bully you?"

He shrugged. "There's nothing that I can do about it."

"I don't believe you."

"What would you do if someone was bullying you?"

She paused, thinking, and then answered, "Ignore it, consult someone, maybe confront the bully—anything to make him stop harassing me."

"Would you really?" he probed skeptically.

"I…Well, probably." She stopped swinging. "Well, okay, I guess I don't have that much confidence to do much. Though I'm sure that you aren't as shy as I am."

"I don't know about that, but whatever," he mumbled. "It's too troublesome to bother the situation."

"But you don't like it, do you?"

"Of course not."

If he doesn't like it but thinks that doing something about it would be too troublesome, then what is the solution to this mess? Then Tsuna remembered that this morning as she was walking to school, she had driven away harassers with her presence. This had given her an idea. "When do the bullies come after you?" she asked.

"Sometimes in the morning and after school. Why?"

"I'm sure that we take the same way, so what I could do is 'coincidentally' walk by when there are bullies opposing you, making them run away. Since I'm sort of a curse to practically everyone, I can act as a repellant for you."

He had a thoughtful look on. "That would reduce chances of me getting beaten and receiving a lecture from Koyo. All right, what time do you leave your home?" he asked.

"Um, about ten to five minutes before school starts. As you would know by now that I'm quite a tardy student," she stated sheepishly.

"Then you would have to run in order to not be late. So that would mean that we would have enough time to meet 'coincidentally'."

"Sounds like a plan." She grinned. "Thanks again for the medicine."

"Thanks for the ingenious scheme." He pulled his sleeve back, revealing a silver watch. "I better get going."

"Oh, well, I'll see you tomorrow then."

Enma stopped and glanced at her, then smiled faintly. "Y-yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."

When the Shimon student was out of sight, Tsuna rocked slowly on the swing, and then got up. She accidentally dropped the packet and bent down to pick it up, that was when she noticed a shiny item that toppled off along with the medicine. That was strange; what could that possibly be? As she reached for the item, instantly she recognized what it was: the ring that Enma had worn before. She blinked and stared at it with wonder. The peculiar details were there as she recalled it to be with the red glow of the jewel beads upon the surface.

Could Enma have misplaced it when giving her the packet? Tsuna wiped her less-swollen cheeks and raised the ring so that the radiance of the sun would give a glimmering shine to the rubies. It was eerily beautiful, and it was owned by Enma. She still couldn't believe that the boy wears this kind of accessory; wouldn't it be rather humiliating for him to wear? Or did he have a fetish for these kinds of things? She pursed her lips and slipped the ring on her left pinky so that she wouldn't loose it. Once she sees Enma next time, she would return it to him and explain that he left with her. And probably ask him why he has this sort of thing.

She diverted her gaze to the swing behind her and wondered what a day this had been. It commenced as any regular, dreadful day, and then the most unexpected events occurred: Yamamoto and Enma nearly died and she saved them, but matters developed into intensity when Yamamoto confided to her, in which she ultimately exploded. Then she ran away meanwhile weeping, and then Enma came along and was not aware that he was cheering her up. It should be in reverse: Yamamoto cheering her up and Enma bringing her down; the actions would have synchronized better with their personality. However, their roles had switched, and honestly, Tsuna didn't care. She figured that Enma was the greater guy that what Yamamoto Takeshi could ever be.

* * *

When he returned home, his father's expression was that of worry. He immediately abandoned his station and to his son, who appeared to be strangely downcast. Yamamoto's hair was wildly tussled, his white shirt was stained in green smears of grass, he was limping, and there was a frown plastered upon his once-cheery face. There was definitely something wrong with the boy.

"Hey, what happened?" his father asked him.

"Huh? Oh, I'm all…" As the sentence was trailing, Yamamoto's eyes stared off, almost thoughtful. "No, I'm not all right. Dad, there's—there's something I should have told you about."

The owner of the sushi restaurant closed the bar that night and spent his time listening to his son confess about how he was thinking about committing suicide, what he thought for long periods of time, how everyone wasn't really his friend, and how much it frustrate him that his competence in baseball would not increase but would decrease and that his arm was demoting his abilities. Letting each word, each sentence, each confession flow out of his mouth felt good, as if he was relieving a sore pain that had been clutching onto him for decades. What made it even better was that his father was listening wholeheartedly, but that had also frightened him.

Then he explained about how the Shimon transfer attempted on preventing his suicidal attempt even though he decided against it, and how Sawada Tsunayoshi rescued both of their lives from a death plummet. He told him about how the girl admonished tearfully, how her life is like at school, and that she was the first person ever to do anything like that. He knew that she and the Shimon transfer were alike, but she was the one who actually made this voiced with strong sentiments. Her crying declaration was not long, but given Yamamoto a sense about life. It transpired a vague connection and a gap among the two individuals—Yamamoto and Tsunayoshi.

"So this girl jumped in and acted as a cushion for you two?" his father said.

Yamamoto nodded.

The man rested his forehead on his palm. "Unbelievable. It would have been logical for you kids to die once there is impact, but this is a miracle! Unbelievable; and what else is unbelievable was how you acted towards to that girl. What was her name again?"

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," he answered.

"Ah, that's right. Sawada Tsunayoshi." The sushi owner folded his arms as a sigh poured out from his nasal. "Boy, you need to apologize to her by the time you get to school. Just straight out say that you're sorry in a sincere manner," he ordered firmly.

"I know," Yamamoto said, his fists clenching on his knees. "That was stupid of me to do."

"And totally out of character. I suppose you got that from your mother; the rare aggressive side."

Yamamoto nodded. "I miss her."

"I miss her too, and I wish that she was here listening to what you were saying. She would have given you a wonderful hug and a kiss on the head while I can do is," his father wrapped his arms around his shoulders, "give you a manly hug."

"Thanks Dad," the son said, a genuine smile forming upon his lips. "I appreciate you lending an ear to hear what I needed to say."

"No, I'm the one who should be thanking you. I know that around this time of age life becomes tougher than it should really be. You're a young man, Takeshi, with responsibilities that you must regard to. When it becomes harder, you would just want to quit rather than trying again because there is a part of you that insist that your determination is a waste of time. I would know; I went through the same thing too and never told my own pop about it. Why? It was because I was too scared of confessing my problems. How would he react? What would happen to me if I told him? I really regret not telling him back then because I had that pain for three years, not relieving it.

"Life is never going to end up the way you want it to end up as. Just like that girl, Tsunayoshi, is suffering from loneliness and such, but someday there is going to be someone who can change her world around, and, son, that person could be you. I can see that she would be in need of guidance to stray her away from being depressed and isolated. What I could also see is that she had been going through more difficult times than yours. It would be the same with that Shimon kid too. In fact, I think that they might be the type of friends that are the authentic; all they need is a bit of opening up to." His father smiled and rubbed his son's back.

"I know you can do it, son," the sushi owner said. "There are always good and bad times; you're just experiencing the bad part, but I assure you that when you try hard enough, you will be blessed. Don't relentlessly persist, but enjoy it while you can. Have faith and a heart; that will keep you moving to a brighter future."

Yamamoto averted his attention to the tiled floors, suddenly taking interest of how often were they cleaned. He closed his eyes and opened them, and then said to his father, "I don't know if I can."

"Then take it slow. Life is short, but long enough for us to recover from our quandaries. You have to realize your potential and regard to everyone around you. So you figured that people in your class may not be quite real, but you would have to dig through that heap to find yourself an actual friend. I think that everyone can be a friend, but perhaps not for you."

"You said that Tsunayoshi and the Shimon guy could be my friends. Why is that?"

"Well, I said that they might be the type of friends for you, but it's up to you who you are entrusting."

It was up to him? How can he shape his own path when there is reluctance within him? How could he rely on someone without knowing that he or she wasn't the one who deserved his reliance? Or even cared about him and his own well-being? The baseball team and the other guys liked him because of his talents. The girls were kind, but not quite considerate. The teachers merely thought of him as a humorous student with no sense of despair. Who could he depend on?

Then he thought of Sawada Tsunayoshi.

She was extremely clumsy. She was incredibly useless. She was competent at being pathetic. She was quiet. She was a loner. She was unsuccessful. However, despite the bad luck casted upon the poor girl, she earnestly tried her very best. She truly did. Nevertheless, she was going to crash and struggle to stand on her feet again. No matter what, she was going to fail. No matter what, she was going to fail. Why couldn't she just give up? Why couldn't she just pull the trigger and get life over with? She didn't seem to be so determined about it, yet had inane stamina to at least go forth. That was what she could do.

She didn't like being called Dame-Tsuna, Yamamoto figured, and had suffered for quite a long time. He often seen her sitting by herself and would stare at the window, gazing at the sky whether it was sunny or rainy. It was seldom that anybody would be willing to speak to her unless it for class works, or even bother to assist her in her needs. From time to time, people would at least present her kindness, but never had it been expanded that far. While it was hard for her, it was easy for him. He did not try to pursue happiness; it was there for him already. He was born with an attraction that brings people to him; she distance people from her even though she desires the opposite. They differed so much, and yet Yamamoto felt a relation with her. Perhaps…Perhaps…

He stood up. "Dad, recently when I was becoming so angry at being so useless, I never noticed about others—especially Tsunayoshi. I been so caught up on my own world that it made me selfish and ignorant. I-I don't want that…How could I place my faith on a friend if I'm not one myself?" He paused, hesitant, and then declared firmly, "I…I want to change."

"I think that statement already did." His father also stood up and clasped a hand on the son's shoulder. "Takeshi, thank you for not giving up hope; thank you for not dying; thank you for wanting to get rid of your insecurity. And thank you for confiding your troubles to your old man. You make me proud, boy."

"Thank you so much, Dad." Yamamoto smiled. "Besides, if I went to heaven anyway, Mom might throttle me. I wonder if there's another heaven."

"I'm pretty sure that there's only one," he chuckled.

"Yeah. Well, I better go to bed; it's getting late." He turned away and to the stairway.

"Oh, and Takeshi?" the sushi owner said as the boy was climbing up.

"Yeah Dad?"

He smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too, Dad," Yamamoto laughed.

**

* * *

**

**NOTIFICATION: **Okay, before anyone would criticize me on about how Yamamoto was out of character, Tsuna was too emotional, Enma wasn't shy enough, and other crud, I'm going to make explanations of why this character is this and whatnot.

First off, Yamamoto was not out of character at all. I recall distinctively that in KHR—the manga, I never seen the anime—when he was about to jump off the roof, he was rather emotional and aggravated. When he demanded Tsuna of how he could improve when he worked harder but Yamamoto couldn't—it was the part where Tsuna was trying to convince him not to jump—Yamamoto appeared to be shouting. I also recall him becoming frustrated with Gokudera when he relentlessly pushed him away when there was a dire battle between them and Gamma. I find it inhuman for someone to not be able to express his or her anger from time to time; Yamamoto cannot possibly be born with a permanent jolly aura—unless he was not right in the head, of course.

Secondly, Tsuna…I'm not sure if there are any problems with her. I mean, sure she could have been overreacting compared to the boy version, however, she was exasperated by Yamamoto's obliviousness and ignorance. She wasn't hysterical, but stressed and angry. And with Yamamoto implying that Tsuna was oblivious to depression, she sort of cracked and had to rant out how wrong he was. Besides, girls happen to have more common sense than guys, thus have a need to knock some senses into them. Sorry dudes, but it's only logical. (: Okay, I was kidding there.

And thirdly, Enma in the manga was externally a shy boy, but internally he was quite the opposite. Kind of like Hibari with exceptions of animal analogy and a fondness for school and some sort of biting fetish. He is quiet, does not interact much, a little stoic and stern and considerate, and holds the Shimon Family pride. He's quite a mystery that has yet to be unraveled, which shows as to why the shy boy confronted Tsuna as someone different and gives her medication. There will be more to reason of why Enma did something like that later on, but for now just enjoy the story.

If you don't like it, you don't have to read. If you don't like it and want to review how boring or depressing this is, I'll be sad but it might help me in the future—but please, don't make it too mean! If you don't like it due to whatever reason but like the story in general, please be patient as I continue to publish more chapters. And if you love the story, I'll use my authoress powers and grant you three wishes—with limits, DUR.


	3. Chapter 3

Catch Me, I'm Falling

**Warnings: **Female Tsuna and no romance until LATER in the story. Also, am not sure if I got Reborn's hello right. Ciassu or Ciasso? I'll stick with Ciasso.

**Genres: **supernatural, definite friendship, possible action and adventure, and drama.

**Inspiration: **My boredom and depression. The book Black Boy helped me expand on description. The book Brave Story helped me expand on creativity. And Wonderland is where I desire to visit. No, I do not have insanity.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own KHR. DUR.

* * *

It was a morning where the air had that cool freshness, the birds were chirping merrily, the sun was bright, the sky was bare of clouds, and the neighbor's dog wasn't yapping for once. Overall, it was the type of morning where everyone should get the feeling that this day was going to be a good day. However, Tsuna viewed it to be any other day. Perhaps worse.

"Hiii! I'm late!"

Tsuna scrambled to get dressed, practically tore off her pajamas in the process. She managed to get ready for school in a matter of minutes, only tripping once. When done, she bolted down the stairs (amazingly didn't face-plant during the flight of stairs) and to the kitchen.

"Oh, morning Tsuna, do you want—"

The daughter forked the fried egg and toast, shoveled it down her throat, and chugged milk—the food was not even chewed yet. With her cheeks bulging largely because of hastily gobbling her meal, she did a fine impression of a chipmunk, if not a frog croaking. And because of her full mouth, she did an unsuccessful farewell to her mother. It sounded like she was gargling honey, though her mother was amused nevertheless. Her daughter's antics never ceased to amaze her.

Tsuna was running her way to school, which was difficult when she was trying to swallow the chunks that were compartmented inside her cheeks. She might as well choke on the egg and die right then and there. Luckily, she managed to swallow every amount without having a near death experience. She gasped for air, finding that quickly swallowing your food is indeed difficult and realized that she might have digestion problems—hence gas.

Well, whatever. She just needed to get to school in time.

And that was when she realized something: her promise with Enma.

Remembering her promise with the redhead also made her remember the medication that he gave her—which worked amazingly, the time when she was crying, and the reason to her cries—evidentially, caused by the aggravation between her and Yamamoto, who probably committed suicide already.

How could she forget what occurred yesterday? How could she forget to keep her promise with the Shimon transfer? How could she!

Tsuna ran as fast as she could, and when she arrived she discovered herself to be too late.

Just about a few blocks away from school, Kozato Enma was sitting in against the wall, his knees tucked closely to his chest, and his body was in cuts and sores. His lip was bleeding and his school supplies were scattered everywhere once again. Shocked, she quickly went to him and questioned him if he could stand, trying to restrain her hysteria. Enma looked up and then tried to get up; unfortunately, his legs were too wobbly and sent him to topple over. Tsuna immediately gathered everything, placed it inside his bag, and attempted to help him stand; however, he flinched away from her.

"It's okay. You can go," he muttered, his eyes avoiding contact.

Tsuna bit her lower lip in hesitation. "B-but…"

"Just go," he insisted tiredly, but the girl would not budge from her spot. She could only look down upon the badly beaten boy who she mildly considered as a friend. Tsuna swallowed the excess saliva that was supposedly tears, her sorrow influenced by regret, and then questioned in a whimper, "Do…Do you hate me?"

Surprised, he elevated his gaze to her and blinked. "What?" he muttered.

"I-I know that I promised you that I would help y-you from those b-bullies, b-but I couldn't keep it because I overslept!" Then she bowed. "I'm so sorry!"

With her eyes staring at the cement walk beneath her, she heard a sigh. "I-I'm…not angry with you," came Enma's reply. Tsuna raised her head, her eyes wide from the revelation.

"You're not?"

"N-no. I mean, I was when you never showed up," he admitted, looking away. "But after they left, I realized that it was kind of stupid having you scare them away. Eventually, they'll find something's up, you know?"

"But if I did show up, then you would have never gotten hurt," Tsuna pointed out.

"True, but you could have gotten hurt in my place instead. Bullies can hurt girls too."

Even when she's supposed to act as a repellent? The girl shook her head and was becoming weary from the situation. "It doesn't matter. I broke our promise and you got hurt at the end. It's my fault," she said.

"I said that it's fine. I'm not mad at you and I'm used to the beating."

"But…!"

"Why are you so concerned about me, anyway?" he interrupted, haste lacing with his tone.

Taken back by the sudden retort, Tsuna flinched instinctively and thought that she had provoked his irritation by her persistent apprehension. She looked at him again and saw him grimacing; however, there was no indication of his exasperation, and she wondered why.

"Well…" Then Tsuna paused. How was she going to say this? And anyway, why _did _she care? It would be obvious to say that she regarded him as a friend even when they barely knew one another nevertheless. Would it be sensible to say that she wanted to repay his kindness? After all, thanks to his peculiar medication, her chest no longer hurt.

"Why are you hesitating?" Enma questioned.

"I'm not! J-just thinking," Tsuna said, her eyebrows furrowed. "Well, anyway, I just happen to care about you."

His expression softened, but remained frowning. "Why?" he probed. When she did not answer, he sighed again, but his grim expression faded away. This relieved and unease Tsuna.

The boy managed to stand up on his own, yet it was obvious that he was weak. Tsuna wanted to help, but he dismissed her by saying that he would regain his strength as he walked the pain off. She stared at him with disbelief, but let it alone nevertheless. She handed him his bag, and he thanked her with his small voice like the day before.

"Um, Kozato-san, I want to let you know that tomorrow I will be there for you," Tsuna vowed, her lips pursed afterwards.

A moment of shock was apparent on his face, his eyes blinking and widening from the fixed guarantee, but it disappeared quickly. His expression was replaced with that of a stoic and slightly aggravated one. "Because of our promise?" It sounded more like a statement than an inquiry.

She nodded.

"And that you care about me..."

She nodded again.

His eyes glistened with pleading as he half-turned to the girl. "Won't you tell me why you care?"

"Because I …" She saw him as a friend. She was appreciated his kindness. She and he were alike. And somehow, all of those reasons sound vague. And yet they were true.

"That's enough. You don't have to say if you don't want to," Enma sighed, shaking his head.

He limped all the way to school, and along the way Tsuna regretted not telling him anything.

The two entered class simultaneously, but there was an emanation of discomfort that Tsuna couldn't quite abide. Enma, ever so invisible, smoothly ambled his way to his desk. Tsuna, on the other hand, nearly tripped when her foot caught the leg of a nearby desk; luckily, she managed to quickly steady herself before the impact between the floor and her face.

This morning was not starting off well.

* * *

This morning was not starting off well.

Tsuna already thought that, but she had to repeat it inwardly again when Yamamoto entered class, all patched up and grinning—as if nothing happened.

The girls, obviously, took notice of the bandaging on him and went over to declare their concern. Tsuna, on the other hand, buried her face into her arms as an attempt of hiding herself. If there was one thing that she didn't want to happen, it was Yamamoto Takeshi to take notice of her.

Well, turns out that the boy didn't commit suicide after all. But why?

She was sure that he would have been provoked by her after she ran away, and then became weary about everything, therefore the perfect mood to settle things right then. But he's right here, breathing, smiling like there's no tomorrow, and radiating his usual joyous aura. Being very chipper, Tsuna was aware when the baseball-star was laughing aloud. Very chipper indeed.

And then it struck her.

It could be her being very paranoid, or that Yamamoto could be out to get her! That's why he's so happy. He's _pretending_ so that he could get her _unguarded_. He wants revenge because of her snappish comment about him being ignorant of depression. And he's _pissed_!

Tsuna felt very small at the moment, and took the time to recollect her inner turmoil. Perhaps she really is being paranoid. After all, does Yamamoto seem the type of guy to get revenge?

Well, he certainly didn't seem to be the type of person to commit suicide.

_Discard thought. Discard thought. _

She hated it when she gets nervous. Tsuna breathed in and sighed through her nose, and then hoped that her paranoia won't get the best of her. After all, she tended to behave jumpy whenever she's nervous, which makes her look like a weirdo.

She discreetly glanced at Enma, who was slouching in his seat unattractively, and then turned her eyes at the hand that was wearing the ring. When should she return it to him? At lunch? During break? After school? When? But how can she after what happened this morning? Obviously Enma lost some faith in her because she overslept. He got hurt because of her. It was all her fault. And meeting him would make things even more awkward.

Tsuna decided to wait. She pulled the ring off her finger and stuffed it into her bag, hoping that no one had seen the ring on her, especially Enma or . Then the teacher arrived in time and everyone took their seats. She shifted her pose so that her head was towards the board, in which she didn't see either Enma or Yamamoto giving her a short glance.

"U-um, Tsunayoshi-san?"

She stopped amidst of the hallway, turning to Yamamoto. "H-hai?"

The boy rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, there's something I wanted to tell you—relating to what happened to, uh, yesterday, you know?" he said, pulling a small smile.

Students halted their walking to listen to what they were saying, which was not inconspicuous at all. She felt ridiculous underneath their stares—honestly, what did they think he was going to say to her? Wait, what _was_ he going to say to her? And pertaining to _yesterday_…?

Tsuna nodded in response, not able to locate her voice anywhere.

"Cool. So…do you mind if we talk about this at lunch or something?"

She was thinking about talking to Enma at lunch, seeing how she couldn't find him at break right now, but what is she supposed to do now that Yamamoto…wanted to talk to her about…_that_? Tsuna was sure that he's going to mention about his suicide—about she keeping it a secret or she letting him do it…or something! What the conclusion would be at the end is unclear to contemplate at the moment considering how she's pondering about the ring and Enma. At the moment, Yamamoto is not important.

"S-sorry, Yamamoto-san, but I had other plans during lunch. Erm, maybe we can schedule another time?"

"Oh, um, sure. Why not?" He grinned.

Tsuna nodded again. "Well…I'll be going then."

Well, that made tensions even more awkward and weird.

And what was weirder was that she could not find Enma anywhere.

It was as if he disappeared.

* * *

Throughout the day, there was no sign of Enma other than class whereas the teacher was teaching and the students were listening and not allowed to make any communication. Overall, Tsuna could not get to Enma at all. And when school ended, the boy just dashed out of the room and vanished. It was all too strange—how was it possible for him to poof into thin air like that? It was also suspicious.

A part of Tsuna was worried about the redhead going to be picked on by another bully again. If he goes off on his own, then surely someone will find his defenseless self and then bam!—he's a goner. But another part of Tsuna didn't care. She was somewhat nonchalant about the situation.

Her suspicion suspected that the boy was avoiding her all day and managed to squeeze into any hideout, hence his disappearance. There must be an explanation for his actions, and she took the evasion to be the answer. It could be rather immature for Enma, although it did seem to suit him to run away from her. He was vulnerable yet was firm and stoic. Timid, yes, but at the same time brave. He's someone peculiar, a mystery, so knowing what his next act might be should be considered as unpredictable.

And she knew this ever since their actual encounter.

So Enma might have his own set of reasons as to why he was never visible other than class. The reason probably didn't have her included, or it could be. But Tsuna didn't care at the time being; she was feeling tired and stressed. She had been stalking through the hallways just looking for him to give him his damn ring, but that could not be accomplished since he disappears every time.

Tsuna was considering on asking P. Shitt, Enma's close acquaintance, but reconsidered it. After being in the same class for a certain amount of time, she got an idea of what response she will receive after asking the unique girl. Tsuna also thought about asking the Shimon third-years, but thought it might be too much of a hassle. Disregarding them being human, the Shimon students were fairly odd and…special. It just didn't seem logical to go up to them for answers that Tsuna needed to hear.

"Ciaosso."

Stopping on her tracks, she looked up and saw a man leaning against the gate of her house. And…was he addressing to…her?

She looked around but there was no one around. "Um, hi," she replied unsurely. "Can I help you?"

"Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

"That's me…" Who is this guy? "Uh...how do you know me?"

"I know your father, who told me about you."

"Okay…" she trailed awkwardly. In a time like this, what was she supposed to do? And it was just creepy how he knew about her while she didn't even know his name. Or his face since a hat was covering it. So far, all she is aware of is that her father and this man were acquaintances or something of the sort, and he's a foreigner, noting the accent lacing with his Japanese. "So, is there anything I can do for you?" she repeated.

"Nothing. I thought I might drop by and say hi."

She nodded. "Well, it was nice meeting you—"

"Are you going to let me in?"

She paused opening the gate. "H-huh?"

The man pushed against the wall and ambled to Tsuna's side. She almost blushed by the closeness but fought it. There was something about him that seemed, well, alluring in a way. It was the air around him that gave him that recognizable charisma. And when he leaned in a bit, she was hit with a wave of a nice scent. Cologne? No, it was a bit more natural than that.

Wait, what? What is she doing smelling this stranger?

"So?"

"U-uh…sure?" Tsuna sputtered.

The man gave a snort and pushed the gate open, leaving the girl slightly baffled. She was even more baffled when he simple waltzed right in the house without making word of an excuse for his intrusion. Well, that was awfully rude, but perhaps all foreigners were like this.

When Tsuna closed the door behind her, her mother's footsteps were heard. "Tsu-chan, welcome back! And oh—who do we have here?" her mother said when she appeared.

"Mom, this is—" but she was cut off when he said, "Ciasso, ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you. I have heard so much about you from your daughter, who I am tutoring." Then he took a bow, causing her mother to blush and Tsuna to gawk. "My name is Reborn, a tutor hired by Namimori Middle assigned to your lovely child."

The woman giggled behind her hand. "I'm Sawada Nana, Reborn-san. It's certainly kind of you to tutor Tsu-chan," she said.

"Thank you for your compliment, Nana-san. Now, if you excuse us, I would like to get our study session into play."

Tsuna was about to open her mouth and say _something_ until her mother giggled again and said, "Not at all! You two have fun. I'll bring snacks."

By the time Nana turned around and to the kitchen, the man grabbed Tsuna and dragged her upstairs, which was amazing because she didn't even tell him how to find her room. He entered her room and shut the door, and then seated himself on her bed, looking at her expectantly. Tsuna could only muster a stare of bewilderment.

Finally, she said, "_What the heck_? I-I didn't even tell you about my mom! Let alone know that my school suddenly assigned you as my tutor!" She scowled at him, which appeared more like a pout. "I don't even know who you are."

"If you were listening more attentively then you would have heard that my name is Reborn."

Already, she felt exasperated, and it hadn't been two minutes yet.

Tsuna sighed and looked at the sitting man, now receiving a better look of him. To her surprise, the man was rather handsome and youthful. He was likely in his early to mid twenties, although his character seemed to emit a more elderly wisdom aura. There were traits that she already took notice before: he was tall and lean; he was dressed in a black suit; and…and was that a lizard perched on his shoulder…?

"Ah, I see you discovered Leon," Reborn said. He lifted the green lizard and to his lap. "Isn't he cute?"

"How come I didn't see him before?" she questioned, frowning.

"Leon's a chameleon: he can alter the color of his scales to match with his environment."

"…why do you have a chameleon?"

"Why don't I have a chameleon?"

They were getting off topic. "Okay, um, care to explain why you just lied down there about you being my tutor?" Tsuna huffed, raising an eyebrow.

"It wasn't a partial lie," he chuckled.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I am going to be your tutor, whether you like it or not."

"W-wait, did my school really assign you to be tutoring me? If so, then why wasn't I aware of this?" she moaned, her shoulders dropping.

"Oh, your school has nothing to do with this, just a promise between your father and me."

Tsuna unfolded her arms, allowing them to go limp by her side. "Dad wanted you to tutor me?" she asked with more confusion.

"Something like that."

"It still doesn't make sense," she groaned.

"Eventually you'll find out, but as for now, you'll just have to wait."

"Why do I feel as if I'm never going to receive a direct answer from you?"

The corner of his lips was tugged into a smirk. "Because starting today you're my student."

* * *

If Tsuna said that Reborn was an awful tutor, it wouldn't be a lie…but it wouldn't be the truth either.

During the evening, the man had been ushering Tsuna through steps of mathematics, and then to her history, and then to her English. She discovered him to be a good teacher and him to be very smart, but his comments made her feel moronic. Yes, he knew his stuff, but he was utterly pathetic at encouraging her—insulting her whenever he can was more fitting.

And he would hit her too.

"No, Dame-Tsuna, wrong answer," the man sighed, smacking her on the head with a rolled up magazine.

Tsuna pursed her lips to prevent a cry from coming out. How he found out about her hateful nickname was beyond her, and more than likely he wouldn't care if she pleaded him to stop calling her that. It has been a few hours and already she was exhausted by him. Always picking on her, whacking her, tormenting her pitiful existence was fatiguing. They barely knew each other and yet Reborn ignored this fact and pursued on treating her like a brat.

She wanted to crawl inside a hole and weep, or kick this man and run away. Whatever it would take to get away from this complication—the insults, the exasperations, everything! Tsuna was already having a hard time at school, so why did this treacherous foreigner have to be there by her house? Why did her father want him to tutor her? And how long does he need to stay?

Hopefully, it would be just this day, and then everything would be back to normal.

"What did I do now?" she murmured.

"You forgot to make this plural. It's not '_Polly and I was hungry'_, it's '_Polly and I were hungry'_. You got that, Dame-Tsuna?"

She nodded, not able to respond. If she did, then her voice would crack from the tears lodging in her throat.

Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna.

Again with the name…Should she tell him to stop? Should she not?

It's a sensitive thing to talk about…After all, that name only symbolizes her flaws…which are everything. She is incapable of doing anything right, and she doesn't need to be reminded of that every single minute Reborn says her _hateful _title.

Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna.

She hears at school: in the hallways where the students would whisper and point at her, when obnoxious bullies would have the enjoyment of taunting her, and when they were sorted into different teams during P.E. _'Argh! We don't want Dame-Tsuna in our team! She'll just drag us down!' _was what they would exclaim.

Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna.

Does she really need to hear it in the safety of her home? Whether her parents know it or not, they would not dare say it to their daughter. Because discouragement would do nothing good to her, right? It would only make her even more incapable of everything because…eventually she will believe every single word.

Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna.

Was she really that worthless?

Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna.

Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna.

Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna.

Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna.

She was, wasn't she?

"Sorry," she whispered, and then changed her answer.

Reborn blinked at the solemn attitude of the girl.

* * *

A/N: The moral of this chapter is that whether your intention is joking or whatnot, your words can penetrate a person's feelings. Please think of what you say before saying anything. Thank you.

And also, my full intention was to make a broader introduction of Reborn, or extend the chapter to capture the moments Reborn and Tsuna share, but all that will be revealed in the next chapter. I didn't mean to make Reborn like a bad person, cuz he always calls Tsuna Dame-Tsuna in the manga. And I'm just illustrating a sensitive Tsuna of how she will take it of being called that title. The Tsuna in the manga didn't care, but my Tsuna does. Sorry if you find that annoying.

Another thing, I was feeling idle about this chapter so if you find any grammar errors and whatnot, please excuse that. Even coffee can't awake me from my weariness. THANX A BUNCHIES GUYZ.


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't want to get sued. DUR.

**A/N:** I read The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe, and I found it to be fairly interesting, and the extension of per sentences consisted of a lot of detail, in which drove me off course. During my reading, I got bored and wished that Poe would have used less words in his sentences, I mean, the man's writings were just too, uh, smart for me to understand. Oh, I don't know, but what I do know is that I had the trouble dissecting the words even when reading aloud, probably because I tend to forget what the previous words said after I jump to another paragraph. There were _tons_ of metaphors, _very_ poetic. And it to end with a mad woman with blood on her dress, yeah, ironic. Part of the reason of my delay—NOT! AHAHAHAHAHA! I just wanted to mention that for no reason at all! Anyway, please enjoy. Please. Enjoy. Please.

Furthermore, excuse my bad writing skillz cuz I've been staring into this computer screen for far too long. Please don't tell me that it would kill my brain cells cuz, one, it's a bit TOO late for that, and two, I don't really want to know—even though I DO! I just realized that I now struggle calculating in my head, and that used to be rather easy for me. So yeah, feel sorry for my inept abilities cuz I fry my brain cells on a regular basis. NOT U DARE ADMONISH ME, STRANGERS.

/00/

There are four classes in this world, regarding to the unknown intelligence the mass majority was ignorant of.

The ignorance of the majority carried the name of the blind dwellers, or the naïveté. There is no definite title for these people; however, civilian is a common term to define of one class.

Like the civilians, this class holds no single title. Many who have ties with this class call it a society, organization, foundation, underpinning, and whatnot. But to narrow it down, it can be used as the mafia. Its main purpose: to continue the unawareness of the civilians from another class, to defeat their nemesis, to make offenses against their hated enemy, or, more so, to take down another class of powerful individuals.

Their nemesis is referred to be a class full of demons, monsters, whatever the mafia would like to spat at the category of their most hateful opponents. However, they are established likewise to the mafia, and yet not quite so. Perhaps there really is something powerful, something supernatural, brewing up in that class. The mafia always says so. What's more to this certain class? That would be unclassified information.

The fourth class is considered to be the referee of the general quarrel. It holds supremacy before the rest and judges with righteousness. Some had clawed their way to be crowned as the part of such aptitude, only discovering an opposite direction nevertheless. Many entitled such position to be that of an honor, a ticket to ultimate recognition. A desired position acknowledged by two of the four classes, a silent dispute makes its presence in per immediate faction. Further information is also unclassified.

Civilians, mafia, monsters, and heaven—weakness, protection, rage, justice.

It's a nonsense world.

/00/

He dug into his pocket to retrieve his phone, flipped it open with a graceful flick, and dialed the number. When the person answered, the caller said, "It's me, Iemitsu."

"Oh, Reborn, how was it?"

Reborn flicked a glance at the window that was tinted orange due to the lights that was turned on inside the house. Suppressing a sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair and proceeded with the conversation. "Well, before answering that, I wanted to ask you something."

"Ask away."

"Does your daughter suffer MSS?" he asked nonchalantly.

There was a pause on the line. "MSS…?"

"Mood Swing Syndrome."

"…I don't think so…Why?"

"Because she changed from exasperated and slightly grumpy to quiet and depressed," the Italian man sighed. "And to answer your question, it was horrid. No offense, Iemitsu, but your daughter doesn't _think. _She is constantly in Lala-land and cannot comprehend simple word tasks given by mathematical or English problems. I fear that she is not worth the time."

"_Reborn,_" came the replier's voice, his tone sounding as if he was suppressing a venomous growl. Then he exhaled and said again, "Reborn, just give her a chance. I'm sure that you will find more in her, and besides, what can you automatically find on the first day? Reborn, please, be patient with her."

Reborn, who was unaffected by neither the stifled growl nor the desperate plea, stopped and a pregnant pause filled his stead. "I'll consider it," he finally answered, "but I'm reluctant to believe that she can be more than what she is now."

"You'll never know unless you try."

"And that's why I'm still here."

"Well, is there any good news or was that it?" From hearing the man's tone, Reborn took a guess that Iemitsu was peeved by the not-so-great news he had delivered. To lift up his annoyance, Reborn decided to please the man with his previous survey of the girl. At least.

"I suppose there is. Your daughter has the probability of having the Hyper-Dying-Will that would be rather useful if included to the divisions, I have noticed. This would be an imperative quality compared to the standards," the Italian explained.

"But…?"

"But she has yet to master it. She doesn't even know of it, and I highly doubt that she would be able to know the basics of engineering it. She may have the potential, but with her overall stature and the lack of experience of any perception for about fourteen years, I have to say that it would take _years _for her to perfect the Hyper-Dying-Will."

"So shall it be years then."

"Iemitsu," Reborn said, rubbing his knuckle against his forehead, "I'm going to be frank with you: she will never be capable of joining the divisions; she won't even be able to reach the first few ranks."

"And wasn't it the same with you?" the father countered, but not in an opposing way. His voice was soft yet firm when he said it, with reason tying with each breath. It was like the tone of pity, causing Reborn to grimace at the recollection of his childhood, but he knew that the older man wouldn't dare speak words of mocking kindness. Iemitsu was being sympathetic; however, the Italian couldn't help but feel disgusted as a flashback occurred, a sense of grime clinging onto his ear and the hand that was holding onto the phone—that's how it feels.

Repulsive compassion. Nothing but fake compassion. Fake smiles, fake love, fake concern, fake, fake, fake, fake. Everything was a lie, a pitiful imitation only to exist to deceive his innocence.

Before, he believed that he had disposed the grime, washed away the past. But he didn't know that the past would still be sticking onto him with an iron clamp. He cannot escape from it because it will always follow him—no, be always _on _him. He cannot get away from what had built him up to what he is now, because…because that past is him and will always be him. He cannot be free.

And to think that Iemitsu defied him by placing his naïve daughter in the same boat as he. He won't be provoked by ignorance; nevertheless, he would rather wager his life to the Devil than agree with that erroneous statement. What could that girl possible be going through that her father would consider just as piteous? What would she understand while having an isolated life out of the bloodshed he coped with? How would that stupid little girl know? How would she know? How would Dame-Tsuna understand anything?

Ignorant. All of them.

"I was a special case."

There was another pause halting the father's reply, and Reborn was considering on hanging up this exchange of words. "That you were," he agreed finally, "however, I don't fail to see the similarity you two share. You may have a different life that Tsuna will never know about, but that doesn't mean her struggles are in vain effort. You were the same those years back, when you were naïve and unaccepted yourself."

"Apparently, I fail to see the connection I have with the girl," Reborn said smoothly. If he was exasperatedly ire, he concealed with his usual unreadable tone, only using the unnerved tenor as a frontage. From the opposite line, Iemitsu would have shuddered from the coldness the comment had been laced in, knowing that the truth he had spoken somehow made some effect upon the man of mystery, the man behind the wall of steely obscurity. Hew knew he did and that Reborn was merely masking it; after all, he had known the young fellow for more than a decade or so. If the tension that Reborn possibly radiated and emitted through the lines didn't reach him, he would have idly thought that Reborn would had made a wonderful character in a whodunit, but stress was getting to him to even consider being offhandedly.

"I know," the voice buzzing through the device grumbled. "Though I guarantee that you will. Someday."

"I thought this was about your daughter, not about me. I'm actually flattered by all this attention," the caller feigned surprise, though it was obvious that the words were constructed half-humored and half-bitter.

"Reborn," Iemitsu sighed. "Oh, fine. Just please have patience; Tsuna is a good kid, I know she'll do something great."

"Isn't that what all fathers say?"

"…Not all, you know?"

"…You're right, I do know."

With that said, he snapped his phone and slid it back into his pocket. The man leaned against the wall next to the gate of the Sawada residence and looked up at the sky. It was already dark, and amidst that blackness was the moon almost waning in radiance due to the hazy purplish clouds. And beyond all that, the stars failed to be shown bright. If there were no stars, then there was no reason to enjoy the hushed seclusion other than being accompanied by the soft winds and the rustling of trees. If there were no stars, then the sky was reduced nothing but a blank darkness with a single light placed upon the firmament.

The night was not beautiful; the night was hideous. Reborn did not want to be here. He really didn't. He didn't want to teach the girl, stay here in Japan (where everyone stared at him because he was a foreigner), and blend in as a normal young man who had lived a normal life. He didn't want to stay where stars were not present. He did not.

But…he had to.

He sighed and stroke Leon, who was on his shoulder. He sighed once more and headed inside the house, where he was greeted by an amiable Nana. Forcing a charming smile, he said, "I'm sorry that I had to excuse myself to make a call. You didn't need my help, did you?"

"Oh, not at all, Reborn-san," Nana giggled. "In fact, dinner will be ready in about a few minutes."

He nodded. "Then I shall tell your daughter, Nana-san." The man didn't see the mother smiling at the gentlemen-like behavior he had displayed, in which was a trait that all men needed in her book. Just before he turned, he also added, "Oh, and if you don't mind…?"

"Yes?"

"I have a request to make, Nana-san."

Minutes after found Tsuna lying on her bed, appearing weary and distressed. Seconds after the minutes found Reborn barging into her room, a nonchalant expression on his face, even when Tsuna scrambled off the floor right when she tumbled off the bed.

"Wh-what is it?" Tsuna asked reluctantly.

"Dinner," Reborn said briefly.

Her eyes widened. How cute. "You're staying for dinner?" He detected the incredulity in her tone. That's cute too.

He used the same smile as he used on her mother. "Yeah. And I have other good news too." He didn't wit for her reply. "I'm living here from now on."

Reborn would have laughed at the face Tsuna was making, but the imaginary grime that was plastered all over him dwindled the opportunity for him to have a good chuckle. Everything seems to be…in play now…

Forced.

Faked.

Just the way everything had always been.

/00/

"Oi, Dame-Tsuna, wake up."

She cringed when the blanket was ripped away from her body and immediately curled into a ball, mumbling incoherent words of protest. Reborn, however, wasn't a man who would take pity, therefore, he wasn't willing to give the girl five more minutes of sleep, or so she had groaned out in plea.

He slid his foot underneath the belly of the girl, having her weight on him and his leg positioned towards the bed, and then thrust his foot upwards, causing Tsuna to fly out of her bed and onto the floor with a mighty 'thump'. She scrambled off the floor, her hair terribly disheveled and her expression bewildered, and lifted her chin to look at the man who woke her up…without the use of threats or weapons this time.

"Are—Are you _insane_?" she cried. "I nearly broke my nose or something because of _you_!"

"Don't be ridiculous," he snorted, stepping on her head. "Your head is thick enough to withstand the impact, though, unfortunately, thick enough to make processing information with great difficulty."

She grimaced and shook her head. "Why can't you be a normal tutor?" she muttered under her breath.

"If I were, how would I be able to put you into place?"

And, of course, the man had to have super hearing.

"Don't be late for school, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn walked out of her room, slamming the door behind him.

Tsuna ran her fingers through her hair, frowning when she discovered a bird's nest amid the pile. She got up, aching a bit from the surprise attack—apparently her new 'alarm clock'—and stretched, rolling the stiff joints that was formed from Reborn locking her up in her small closet last night. Reminding herself to never shove Leon off of her bed, Tsuna went to the bathroom and did her daily routine.

It only has been three days ever since Reborn's arrival, and already Tsuna felt as if a relationship was established between them. Disregarding the tutor and student bond, the relationship was a sadist and masochist one. Tsuna being the masochist, obviously. And Reborn being the sadist, needless to say. For her to put up with the man's…_cruelty _was simply amazing…She would have imagined that any sane person would have cracked under the pressure given by Reborn, including the fear.

It was those last two days that she realized Reborn wasn't going to stop addressing her other than her nickname; she decided to learn how to deal with it. And it was hard. She managed to stop wincing every time he called her that, which was progress in her book. However, pushing down her misery wasn't going to do anything. Tsuna had been called Dame-Tsuna for years and she still hasn't learned how to become adjusted to something that's been happening to her for a long time.

She sighed and stroked her hair down. It was below her shoulders and the shorter strands stood erect; no matter how much she tried (smoothing it down with water or hairspray) she can never get her hair straight. She hated her impossible hair, wanting to have flowing and soft and dead-endless tresses like Sasagawa Kyoko or her friend, Hana. Their bundles of silk must be easier to take care of than her tangled mop.

Letting her hair lay stiffly on her shoulders, she glanced at herself in the mirror, then reminding herself it was pointless since her adjustments to her appearance still wouldn't change a thing in her life. Tsuna sighed and grabbed her bag, and then headed downstairs to eat breakfast.

This time, Tsuna was not late. Thanks to Reborn, she hadn't been late to class, but she was usually tired somewhere in the afternoon and would accidentally snooze during that time. But it was worth it. She would meet Enma along the way, and they wouldn't encounter a single bully.

Enma once commented about how peaceful it was as knowing that someone isn't there to jump on you, and Tsuna felt a surge of relief because of that. She had a feeling the boy was becoming more welcoming towards her than before—the very fact was a happy notion and it made her blush with mirth. For any normal person, it would be strange to be flustered over a simple acquaintance, but Tsuna was rarely associated with anyone in friendly terms so it was understandable.

The redhead never called her Dame-Tsuna, never picked on her bad qualities, or made her uncomfortable in any way. Of course, there was always that silence between them, but somehow it was a reassuring peacefulness, and that peace still wouldn't go interrupted when one or the other would speak, which happened rarely.

But sometimes Tsuna would wish that he would at least make a conversation with her. She could be the one who start it, but never had the courage to. What would she say? What if it turns our terribly awkward? What if he gets annoyed with her? So that's why she kept her mouth shut.

/00/

Once again, Tsuna forgot to return the ring to Enma. They were just together minutes ago and she still has yet to give it to him. The ring was safely tucked away inside her bag, ready to be handled by its rightful owner, but at the same time Tsuna didn't want to. Not just yet. She wanted the glowing ring to stay with her for its peculiar and captivating beauty. It almost seemed that it just belonged with her in a way.

Surely there would be other chances for her to return the ring, but just not this time. Or the few days after that. Or more. Or when the redhead would stop vanishing during breaks. Really, how does he do that?

And surely Enma wouldn't mind. After all, he didn't show any signs of apprehension, so it could be that he never noticed or that the ring wasn't really worth it, which would be ridiculous. The ring could be made out of the finest gems in the world! If she sold it to a local jewelry store, she would definitely make a heavy profit out of it. Not that she would.

Her delay on delivering her ring reminded her of her delay on delivering Yamamoto's answer. For some reason, the boy wanted to talk to her, but Tsuna would make excuses because she's headset on finding Enma during breaks, even though her intuition told her that he wasn't going to be around until class started, but at least it gave her something to do other than stay with the baseball-star.

Yamamoto made her feel ill at ease whenever he confronts her. It was like a trip back to the past of when he was planning to die and his ignorance of her depression. She really hated him for that. And it even gave her a chilling feeling of 'Dame-Tsuna' chanting in her head, unable to get away from the cursed mantra unless the boy would get away from her. It was…an unnecessary reminder, and she just wished that he would stop coming to her for whatever he needed to talk about. Hopefully, Tsuna would find the courage to accept Yamamoto's invitation and get it over with.

But not today since she had already dismissed him.

Tsuna was walking back home and anticipated that Reborn was planning to do something nasty to her. Again. Probably would let Leon poop over her desk for what she did to him before. Apparently, Reborn wasn't so happy when Tsuna pushed his chameleon off her bed, hence to why she was stuffed inside the small closet, hence to why she still felt sore throughout the day.

Knowing what a jerk Reborn was made Tsuna feel weary all of a sudden. And yet she dragged her feet until she was inside the house. Tsuna treaded upstairs and discovered the man to be sipping tea while Leon was napping on her bed. And why in her room she will never know.

"Dame-Tsuna has arrived," Reborn announced to no one particular, and then yawned. He set down the cup and looked at her with his cool and calculating eyes. "So, school was distressing as usual?"

She flushed but didn't answer.

Not that Reborn cared anyway.

She organized her materials and Reborn settled down next to her. After the study session, it was evening and her mother was still not home. Tsuna walked into the kitchen and frowned, asking herself aloud, "Where could she be?"

"Your mother went to visit a friend of hers," Reborn said. "Get two aprons; you're going to be helping me make dinner tonight."

Her eyes widened with surprise. "You know how to cook?" she asked incredulously.

Reborn snorted and walked to the refrigerator, leaving Tsuna answerless. The girl frowned but shook her head, fetching the aprons. Handing Reborn a pink apron, Tsuna tied the yellow one on and waited as Reborn tied his on.

"I didn't tell you to put yours on, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said, whacking her on the head with a rolled up magazine that came seemingly out of nowhere.

"H-Huh?"

"You have to go to the store and buy tomato sauce and parmesan cheese."

Tsuna sighed—in exasperation, but didn't make it apparent—and took off the apron. "And what are you going to do?" she asked the man, impatience lacing with her tone.

"Finding the ingredients useful for the recipe."

She decided not to push things, so she dashed out of the house with wallet in hand, went to the nearest store and bought the needed items. By the time she returned, Reborn filled the counter with cooking items, and still seemed to be searching.

"I'm back," she called, placing the bag down.

"Good. Wash your hands and put on the apron," Reborn ordered.

Doing as ordered, she came back ready for the next instructions.

"Can you slice?" he asked.

She nodded. "Mom taught me some things about cooking."

"Good. Here," he handed her a cutting board and a knife, "I need you to slice those tomatoes and chives."

Tsuna placed the food on the board and watched as the man did his magic: First he whipped out a pan and turned on the stove; he took a spoonful of butter and plopped it onto the silver surface, and then drizzled a little bit of oil. Then Tsuna was lost from there, so she focused on her given task.

There were apparently many tomatoes and chives to slice, so Tsuna was occupied for most of the time. Sometimes she would glance up and see Reborn working on one thing to the next so quickly, just like a professional chef. She wondered if Reborn used to be a cook for a popular restaurant back in wherever his foreign country was. Come to think of it, Reborn never mentioned where he was from.

After the process of preparing the food, Reborn stacked each plate full of noodles coated with some sort of tomato sauce that emitted a mouthwatering aroma. Tsuna was ready to dig in.

The table was crowed with napkins, chopsticks, and cups of water. Reborn set a plate before Tsuna and told her to eat. She didn't need to be told twice.

In the first bite, her eyes widened and she quickly gobbled the mouthful. "This is delicious," she said after swallowing. "I never thought Western food would be this good."

"Italy is known for its appetizing pasta," he informed her.

She blinked. "Is that where you're from?"

"Yes."

"That's…interesting. Most people would guess that the foreigners here are all Americans, but it's because we don't have many coming here, and the majority really are Americans so no one would have guessed you to be Italian," Tsuna babbled.

"Hn."

Well, so much for a conversation.

The two ate in silence, and when they finished Reborn took the empty plates and cups and have them washed. Tsuna felt guilty; Reborn had made a wonderful dinner and now he's washing the dishes when it should be she who washes them. After all, he was the guest and it would be very rude of her to make him do these things.

"Dame-Tsuna, throw out the trash," Reborn ordered coolly, whacking her on the head with the magazine.

All guilt gone now.

Tsuna sighed, getting up to do as told.

/00/

Tsuna woke up feeling…strange.

No, wet.

Forcing her eyes to open, she saw Leon staring back at her with his big eyes.

And then it came clear to her.

"Why me…?"

Leon peed on her.

So that morning Tsuna took a shower. Thank goodness it was Saturday; otherwise, Tsuna wouldn't know what to do to mask the smell since she always didn't have the time to before school. Stepping out the bathroom with the feeling of content cleanliness, Tsuna sighed in exasperation when seeing Reborn juggling knives…with one hand.

Can't that man ever stop doing anything dangerous?

"Your mother is downstairs," Reborn told her.

"Th-thanks," she murmured and dashed off.

"Tsu-chan!" Nana exclaimed and hugged her daughter, shocking her.

She blinked. "U-um, Mom?"

"Isn't Reborn-san the best?"

"…Uh…" Now how to answer that?

Luckily, she didn't need to as her mother pulled away and dragged Tsuna to the stove, where the pan of last night's pasta was. "Reborn-san saved me some and told me that he and you made it together. I still cannot believe how delicious it is!" her mother giggled.

Reborn…_and_ her? He added her too?

Well, that was…oddly nice of him…

"He also was thinking about bringing you along shopping with him for tonight's dinner."

"…What?"

"Reborn-san said that he was terribly guilty that I wasn't here to dine with you two, so he wanted to make up for it by making tonight's dinner. Isn't that sweet?"

…

…She was going shopping with Reborn?

What?

"Dame-Tsuna," Reborn called out idly, "you're going the wrong way."

"G-gomen, gomen," Tsuna apologized in a quick hushed voice as she scurried to Reborn's side. Instantly, she felt embarrassed by the stares being directed upon the duo as they walked pass from each store to store.

"I thought we were just going out for groceries," she murmured.

"We are, just after this."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, skeptic. However, she dared not to press things as she submissively followed behind, head ducked to hide her face with her hair as curtains, not wanting to make eye-contact with any of the witnesses. She knew that Reborn was foreigner—_handsome_ at that—and having one was indeed interesting to happen in Namimori, but ogling him as if he's an exotic animal was not necessary at all.

"…Why am I here?" she sighed.

"Because you are going to help me shop."

"Shop? Shop where?"

"At a store, of course."

"But…why do you need to shop there?"

Reborn rolled his eyes. "Don't ask stupid questions, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna didn't say a word after that.

She, however, did question curiously again when Reborn stopped a few yards away from the mall's entrance. "You're not going in?"

"I'm not going inside that building, but there is a marketing business somewhere nearby," he informed her.

"A-ah…Ah, w-wait! Where are you going?"

Walking pass the parked cars and through the scattered scrubs and woodchips lawn that supposedly made the mall's exterior more environmental, there was no response coming from him as he neared to the rear side of the building.

"Reborn, what if there are security guards on patrol? We-we could get caught for trespassing!" Tsuna called out anxiously. As expected, he continued ignoring her, and this tested her tolerance for the man. Normally, Tsuna would have a level of psychological fortitude, often because throughout the years of being ridiculed and depressed, a usage for her overall endurance. Reborn, nevertheless, was a gentleman who proved to be an entirely different issue, and she wondered vaguely if he took joy in expanding her frustration.

If she lingered here any longer, a mall cop is bound to discover her. On the other hand, from her little knowledge of the man yet great—and hysteric—intuition, she had a feeling that wherever Reborn may be venturing it could be regarded as a complete danger zone, rendering arrest from an eccentric and overly righteous geezer crowing his badge and police uniform to be a much more welcoming choice.

She took a quick glance behind her, not seeing anyone there, and back to Reborn, who vanished suddenly.

That's when her hysteria sky-rocketed.

Without thinking, she ran to where the Italian had wandered. And much to her disbelief (but not so much knowing Reborn, generally), she faced a tunnel with cemented walling and an iron stairway that spiraled as the tunnel traveled vertically. Fumes of cigars and liquor wafted from the tunnel and to her nose, furthermore realization dawned her bemused expression.

This was an underground club.

"It's an underground marketing system," he explained.

Well, she was close.

"Are…you going…down _there_?" she asked, her eyebrows knitting together.

"No, I'm going to hunt for flying pigs," he said with nonchalance and made his way to the stairs. She had actually believed him for a second there. He gave a side glance. "You coming?"

Did she have much of a choice?

As they made their way down the stairs further and further, the darkness was soon adjusted to Tsuna's eyes, and soon enough there were dim lights making it easier to walk by. Her head was becoming disoriented by the intoxication but forced down a gulp to send away the bitter bile and focused on Reborn's back, who seemed to have a simpler time through the obscurity. Curse to his unbelievable perfection.

A couple minutes later and they had already climbed down the stairs and travel deeper into the mysterious passage. The headlights above made the lights broader, much to Tsuna's relief. It would be easier to walk without relying on the Italian's back.

Unfortunately, she didn't see the pebble in front of her, causing her to face-plant onto the gritty floor.

"Oh, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn sighed, shaking his head. "Dame-Dame-Dame-Tsuna."

"I think I got the message that I'm inept, thank you very much," she grumbled, picking herself up.

He frowned a little. "Are you really Sawada Iemitsu's biological daughter? Perhaps you were adopted. Perhaps he married your mother when you were an infant."

Tsuna gave him a look.

He sighed again. "Pity. I have to tutor a child who can't even watch her own two left feet, or dodge a hardly visible pebble for that matter."

"It would be my great pleasure for you to resign being my tutor."

He smacked her with a rolled up magazine.

"Oi! Reborn! My good man," guffawed a man who was walking towards their direction. "Good ta see ya!"

"Ciassu," Reborn replied coolly.

It came to Tsuna's attention that her tutor was associating with an average looking foreigner who was with a huge thug with tattoos coating his huge arms as a huge smile spread across his face that was marred with a hideous and huge scar. She didn't fail to miss the eye-patch either.

"And who's the kid?" he asked. She nearly choked on air when the thug was peering down at her from his great height with his one eye. She managed not to squeak in fright and stepped closer behind Reborn.

"My student."

"Another one? Geez, you might as well be a teacher at an educational establishment," whistled the tall, thin man. He wore a blue beanie, and light brown strands of hair peeked out. "Isn't this your fifteenth kid?"

"Third," Reborn snorted, crossing his arms.

"Aye, and what a fine teacher you'd be."

Tsuna blinked in confusion. Who is Reborn talking to? Why do they know each other? How can he not be intimidated by that thug? And why are they here again?

He smiled, almost in a friendly way. Almost. "Say, Moretti, how about we get down to business, yes?"

"Impatient I see," he barked a laugh. Tsuna heard a grunt coming from the thug. "Well then, follow me. Oh, and watch out for that barrel. We got that from the Bovino."

"Bargaining with the weak again," Reborn noted with amusement.

"You got ta admit, they supply good stuff. It's like they're our own arsenal."

The two men traded smiles while Tsuna and the thug were having a stare-down. She was loosing by default.

/00/

**A/N:** When I read your reviews, you couldn't imagine the incredible feeling I had. Each review I read filled me with such joy and astonishment—I just couldn't believe it at the time! I wanted to do something, like present each of you a gift to show how much I appreciate your words, but that kind of would be impossible since I'm just an online authoress. I really want to do something for you guys, I really do. And now I'm soaking up in guilt because, one, I haven't updated quickly enough, and two, this notification hardly emits my gratitude. GAAAH!

Dear people who have noticed the errors to my writing, I once again say that I fry my brain cells on a regular basis and that even though I read through my chapters, often I over look mistakes or don't even consider them to be mistakes. Please accept this MAJOR apology. I learned one thing though from this book that I'm currently reading, a character's actions is to be put into past tense while the narrator's high view point is in present. WOWZERS. It's called _The Mysterious Benedict Society. _I'm not done with it yet, but already I can tell that it's a good book, plus I have an itching feeling that the author is British. I KNOW that he is.

Moving along, I'm kind of disappointed by this chapter yet at the same time I'm happy about it. It introduces Reborn and Tsuna's relationship, of how the improvement between them develops. Though, my disappointment revolves about my original plan about Tsuna and Yamamoto interaction being thwarted. And the sad thing is that they probably won't meet up till the next few chapters or so—even ENMA!—but hey, at least you get to read about Reborn, right? Yes, this is still gonna be a 00FEM2780 story, and I have no plans on changing it into a RFEM27 one anytime soon. Well, maybe there is a minor RFEM27 in it, but you'll just have to wait and see.

Moretti is an actual character; however, he has a minor role throughout the series. Why did I choose him? I love minor characters! I believe that they deserve tons of love! He'll be a crucial character in my story, I think, though the thug won't be. I just added him there to scare the wits off of Tsuna.

Why did I make this notification so long? Because I had a LOT of things to explain, that's why. Well, I'll see you guys later and hopefully I'll try to overcome writer's block and update sooner. I mean, don't we just hate it when an author stops the chapter with a cliffhanger and then comes back a decade later saying that he or she can't continue it? But who am I to say? I'M A HYPOCRITE BY HEART!


	5. Chapter 5

Tsuna pressed her lips together and nervously glanced up at her teacher.

"You aren't going to go away yet? Stubborn, stubborn." The other man shook his head.

Reborn smirked coolly. "Only when prices become ridiculously high. Really, twenty-thousand pesos for Ricanian bullets?"

"Fine, does eighteen-thousand satisfy you, sir?" The man behind the counter crossed his tanned arms over his large belly. He was definitely foreign, like that Moretti fellow except of a different race. He accentuated his words with a strange drawl, as if Japanese was the language that was hard to convey due to his thick intonation. Tsuna assumed that he was originally an islander. "Genuine bullets such as these cannot help but be pricey."

"Understandable, but how about we reduce it to fourteen-thousand, yes?"

"Bastard, you sure know how to make things difficult," the gruff man chuckled dryly.

When they moved away from the store, the girl was practically bouncing in anticipation of leaving…that was until they moved to another store. This time, her tutor was planning on buying a gun.

Once they were out of the underground marketing system, as Reborn had called it, Tsuna couldn't help but sigh loudly, relieved to get out of there. Reborn snorted. "Couldn't handle it, Dame-Tsuna?"

"Of course not! And what were you doing buying _bullets_ and a _gun_?" she demanded.

"That's none of your business."

She frowned but followed Reborn nonetheless.

The trip to the grocery store was interesting in a sense. Reborn kept whacking her with a rolled-up magazine or newspaper whenever she did something stupid in his eyes, such as picking a bad tomato or getting the wrong sauce—he was, apparently, stern about the ingredients for dinner. And when she complained about having Italian food again, Reborn flicked her forehead and said that she should be appreciative of experiencing the taste of foreign meals.

"Are we having pasta again?" she asked, rubbing the sore area.

"Yes," he replied, checking the expiration date on the cheese.

Tsuna groaned.

"You sound as if you had eaten it for decades straight," he commented airily. "You've been only eating it since yesterday, and you liked it even."

"Sorry, I just feel…cranky, that's all." Running her fingers through her hair, she caught a knot and couldn't pull her hand out. This was not her day.

The man smiled slyly. "I see. Woke up on the wrong side of bed?"

"More like having a lizard making me his toilet," she grumbled.

"You should whine less then."

She cringed at his suggestion and remained silent after that.

The walk back home was the best—Reborn was tutoring her with just words. Whenever Tsuna didn't understand, he repeated his explanation while using simpler words, and sometimes said it too slowly to emphasize her stupidity, but it was merely to tease her. She puffed up her cheeks in agitation, wondering if it was too late to convince her mother to hire another tutor.

* * *

"Oi, Dame-Tsuna, get that pot from the cabinet over there." Reborn pointed.

Tsuna obeyed wordlessly. As she reached for the pot, she accidentally brought out other dishes and caused them to fall on her head. Reborn watched as the girl struggled getting up, pain getting in her way.

"Well," the man began, "it could have been worse."

A glass rolled out of the shelf and crashed onto her head.

"I stand corrected."

* * *

When Reborn made Tsuna help him with dinner again, she grumbled something incoherent and dragged her feet into the kitchen. He assigned her to chop onions, in which she protested.

"But raw onions make my eyes sting!" she said.

"Onions make anyone's eyes sting," he said.

Tsuna bit her lower lip. "But I really _hate _onion chopping."

"What did I say about whining?" He pointed at Leon sitting on his head, and earned a flinch from the girl.

"Um, I'll get to it."

* * *

"What? Why do I have to learn that?" Tsuna complained.

"For self-defense," he replied indifferently, waving the weapon.

Her eyes read disbelief. "A _gun_? I don't want to be charged as a murderer!"

"I told you, it's only for self-defense. And it's not really a gun, but a shock-gun."

"Shouldn't shock-guns look different then?" she asked, gesturing to the revolver that Reborn had bought in the marketing system.

"So they remodeled it." He shrugged.

"I don't know…" she muttered skeptically. "I mean, why do I even need to learn self-defense? It's not as if I'm being targeted or anything."

He whacked her head with a rolled-up newspaper. "Don't ask stupid questions, Dame-Tsuna."

* * *

It took forty-five minutes for Reborn to guide Tsuna through _one_ problem in algebra. Although the girl was terribly embarrassed for her obvious miscomprehension for a simple mathematic equation, her tutor appeared to be rather amused.

"I have never thought that I would find myself a person whose stupidity level is beyond the beyond," he said dryly, rubbing his chin.

"…" She hung her head and sighed.

* * *

"Leon isn't as gross as I thought he would be," Tsuna admitted, stroking the chameleon's head. "I guess it takes time getting used to it."

"Dame-Tsuna, your attentive skills are poor at best," Reborn snorted.

"What?" She looked down. "Gah! Leon! Not again!"

Leon licked his eye.

* * *

The Italian watched with interest as his student accidentally flung her shock-gun into a wasp nest and then running and screaming from the angry horde, their stingers ready.

Looks like self-defensive lessons were over.

* * *

When Reborn commented that her smiles and laughter were rare to witness, Tsuna responded that there was nothing to be merry about.

"You should be less depressing," he said. "That can't be good for your health."

Thinking back to the times when he trained her in using a shock-gun, nearly had her hands lopped off from him wielding the knife, waking her up ridiculously early when school wasn't going to start for the next few hours, whacking her head with various items, becoming paranoid whenever he has a conspiratorial glint in his eyes, him allowing Leon to crawl all over her…

Well, at least he transforms into a peaceful beast whenever he has his espresso.

"Life's too much of a drama," she sighed. "So why do I have to bother about my health?"

"You are so depressing."

* * *

Tsuna ran down the stairs, her hair disheveled and her uniform crinkled. As she was about to exit the house, she glared at the best of her ability, which that glare was aimed at Reborn.

"I just cannot believe you had my floors waxed. Do you realize how many times I have slipped?"

"I can imagine," he replied, smirking.

* * *

It had occurred to her.

Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna.

He always called her that, but for some reason it was a name she would respond easily to if not said by anyone else but Reborn. She wasn't hurt by it, seeing how the man was a sadist, but it wasn't as if she liked the name. She hated it whenever her classmates called her that and felt a part of her break. However, with Reborn, it was as if he was playfully mocking her. And she was fine with that…sometimes.

He thought she was stupid, and so did everyone else. He thought that she was a klutz, and so did everyone else. He thought that she was helpless, and so did everyone else. But Reborn didn't make her drown in contempt but rather usher her to the way of bettering herself, even when it seemed impossible. And at the end, it seemed that she managed to gain a bit of self-respect. Additionally, she found herself wanting to do more unlike her past self who felt like she _needed_ to do more. There was a difference.

Strangely, Leon happened to take part of this…relationship. Whenever Tsuna would be complaining or behave as her pitiful and useless self, she would wake up the next day with a surprise. Urine, dead skin, half-eaten insects, anything from the chameleon that grossed her out would be found on her or her bed. It was like training, she noticed, and Reborn was her mentor and Leon was the one who gave out punishment. It was oddly well-sought.

What's more, Reborn was supportive. Of course, that was indirect because so far she hadn't seen Reborn intentionally express kindness to her. It was as if the name-calling and the bullying was merely a cover-up so that it wouldn't be too apparent—his support, that is. But that was her thinking wishfully. Reborn was a peculiar man who cannot be understood easily; it might take years to get through that blockage of mysteries. So therefore Reborn might or might not be helping her out along the way other than her academics.

Because he was too much of a mystery.

He was a sly, conniving, devious man. There was always a trick in his sleeve, an evil trick. He never failed making her stomach churn with discomfort, whether it may be his no-nonsense remarks or the way the corner of his lips curl into a smirk. His graceful movements and his strong confidence—what more is it to him that makes him the exact opposite of her? The man was utterly amazing, and she was infuriated by him.

Were all foreigners like this?

Not only that, but he's one hell of a fighter, cooker, flatterer, dancer, and seducer. And tutor. And he has a lot of money.

And a chameleon.

Suave, handsome, and charming—what's more to him?

And _Reborn_? What kind of name was that?

Tsuna was the kind of person who wouldn't expect more in life because that's all she would go through: school, college, job, and deathbed. That's it. Once you die, it's all over. And she can't wait to die. Unlike the daughter, the mother and father had big hopes and dreams. They believed that some ironies were caused by fate, and in Tsuna's case, Reborn was her irony.

There's got to be some mistake.

And him being someone so…so perfect? That was _a mistake_!

So why she, the most imperfect person in the whole wide world, have the most perfect person in the whole wide world with her? And bother talking to her? What benefit would he receive just wasting air on her? No, Tsuna is not trying to degrade herself, but making a logical exemption. Because seeing that the population won't come to her, it just contradicts everything when he does come to her.

* * *

"A-ano, Kozato-san," Tsuna called out.

He turned and nodded.

"I have something to give to you. I'm sorry, I've been meaning to give it to you for quite a while but somehow I forget every time," she said sheepishly.

He nodded again.

She wrung her hands and placed them onto the pocket of her jacket. "So, here—"

Before she had the moment to present Enma's ring, she was interrupted when someone exclaimed, "Takeshi's gonna go suicide! On the rooftop!"

Immediately, all the students went hysterical and pushed their way out the door and to the roof. Tsuna's eyes widened and turned her attention back to Enma. He was gone.

"Why does he always disappear!" she hissed under her breath and ran for the door.

Running up the stairs, Tsuna couldn't believe what was happening, and yet at the same time it seemed realistic enough to believe. But still…Yamamoto doing it _again_? She was sure that he wasn't going to! Ever! He was supposed to move on…to move on with his friends and fans, not clinging onto the anxiety and suffering! That's what all baseball-stars and popular boys and cheery lovable ones do—they don't have to look back because they don't have anything to look back to. They are so occupied with the enjoyable things given to them in life that there is no time to. He should have moved on. He should have!

Why was he doing it again?

There was an unpleasant churn in her stomach, a guilt feeling that caused her to pale. It was as if she was responsible for his current actions, and now she has to be the one who stops him.

But why? What did she do?

There was a throng of students all gathered before the fence. She heard their voices, all pleading and crying out—only for Yamamoto. They were trying desperately to convince him not to do it, and somehow Tsuna knew that it was all pointless. It was because none of them truly knew how it feels…and it was as if they were impersonating what deep sadness he felt. Feeble attempts on persuading someone who cannot be persuaded by meaningless words. Nevertheless, their words reflected him like a mirror and sunlight.

She ran into the swarm and shoved her way towards to the fence, and when succeeded, she discovered him to be standing the same spot where he stood on the day of his first suicide attempt.

"Y-Yamamoto!" she screamed at the boy who had his back at her. Alerted by her shout, he turned around and faced her with simple ease. It was like a complication for her to stomach. How can he be so calm…?

"Tsunayoshi-san, hey," he said, putting on a forced grin. "It looks like I'm doing it again. Kind of funny, huh?"

"Wh-what?" she murmured, swallowing.

"I guess it's time I end this hell on earth," he muttered, the cheerful façade instantly gone.

Her eyes widened. "A-Are you crazy?" she cried, tears lodging in her throat.

"I probably am. I'm not sure. But…"—he glanced down with solemn eyes, and a faint smile imprinted upon his face— "what other options do I have? What is the point of all this? What other motives do I posses to keep me living on?"

She shook her head. "No. N-no! You—you don't have to do this, p-please!" Her shoulders shook as streams cascaded down her reddened cheeks.

"Why don't I?" he said softly, almost as a whisper but audible enough for her to hear.

"Because it's stupid!"

"Why is it?"

She didn't detect the firmness in his voice. She just answered with a firmer voice. "Because you have a whole life waiting ahead of you. If you quit now—you better not quit right now! Life is not meaningless unless you throw it away. You have—you have things you cannot loose!" she insisted. "I'm begging you. Don't loose your family, your friends, everyone you love. Even baseball!"

"Even when it rejects me?" he chuckled without humor. "Look at my arm. I told you before, I trained and trained, but there was no change. I even went far as to break my arm. Look at me, I'm a mess. So what if I loose everything? So what if everyone's sad? What would I care when I'm dead?"

"Takeshi-kun! Don't!"

"No!"

"We love you, Takeshi-san! Please live! Please!"

But the boy wasn't listening to the frantic pleas. His focus was entirely on Tsuna, waiting for her response. It was as if she was the only one on this roof while the loud crying went mute to his ears and her voice was the only thing that allowed him to hear.

She rubbed her cheeks and raised her head, and it happened. When Tsuna's wet eyes met with Yamamoto's empty eyes, she saw a familiar flare in that gaze of his. It was small and weak, but it was still flickering despite the damp and cold furnace it settles upon. And by that flare, there was something feeding it to keep it strong. What makes it strong? Why is it strong?

Why is that fire so familiar?

It's the same fire that Tsuna had in her own eyes.

Despite the stubbornness and the determination that Tsuna strived from to continue, her hope was slowly diminishing. She thought that even though she had a reason to pull the trigger and die, to loose everything she held precious, she was not to loose the war. But despite the courage that brings her to another battle, the outcomes were two to seventy-thousand. She was going to loose no matter what.

She was going to loose all that hope. That flare in her eyes was going to vanish. Suicide is going to be more welcoming to her. She was going to loose the battle, the war.

And yet she was still standing.

There she was, standing before the boy who was attempting on his second suicide, watching the flare wan along with his life. The boy who had it all discovered that he didn't and couldn't handle the truth. He didn't care about anything, and didn't want to suffer another day. And that was exactly how she was.

Her fire was about to vanish if it weren't for Reborn.

"Baseball is not the center of your world. You have to look deeper than that. There is so much more to life than just baseball!

When there was a man standing by her house, she was puzzled of why would a handsome Italian be waiting for her. She still didn't know why he did so and why it was to be her. But Tsuna was ever so grateful that he did.

"And even though you say that you don't care about the people around you mourning after your death, you will care one way or the other. Even if you won't live to regret it, it will haunt you wherever you go.

In the beginning, it had been so strange. This stranger just waltzed into her life as if he owned the place, deceived her mother with his charisma, bullied her, and let his reptile roam free all over her bed. Though she did not appreciate the dead skin on her sheets, she did appreciate their company, even if she was unaware of the fact.

"It's because the time of being with the people around you will probably be the most precious thing you would ever have. It's because those people helped you build the person who you are, who we love to see and hear everyday.

In the beginning, he proved to be someone who she detested openly. He teased her, abused her, made her cry, and sometimes frightened her, but it was all worth it because of the result: She had grown stronger than before.

She didn't even realize what impression Reborn made on her. It was just a few weeks and already Tsuna couldn't imagine her life without him. And without Leon! It was as if she knew them all her life. Already, they became her life. How would her life be steady without the man and the lizard?

"You might not care how much if an impact it would be for us when you're gone, but everyone will be sad. I'll be sad. We all will be sad because we lost someone who we loved.

It was because Reborn was there for her. He put things straight for her. He guided her out of the maze that she was lost in. It was because he was there for her, and cured her loneliness.

"And you might not realize this, but wherever you go, you will always be lost without someone helping you guide the way." Tsuna, her eyes continuing to pour, held her hand to the boy and smiled. "Why you do this is because you feel as if you have no hope, finding no point in life. But I tell you, that's not true because there is always hope. You just got to pull through and find yourself who you are. I'm willing to support you."

"What are you saying?" he asked.

"I'm saying…will you let me be your friend?"

Imagining a world without them…

…would be unbearable.

Tsuna's outstretched hand was waiting for Yamamoto's, but he did not grab hers. Instead, he said, "Then why did you continuously avoid me?"

Her eyes widened from the revelation as her hand declined in midair. Shocked by the words that were spoken, Tsuna repeated them inwardly.

'_Then why did you continuously avoid me?'_

Was she avoiding him?

Was…was she _really_ what caused Yamamoto to take this path of ending his life?

Was it she?

How…When? How did she avoid him? When did she do it? And why didn't she see that at all?

'_U-um, Tsunayoshi-san? Well, I wanted to tell you—relating to what happened to, uh, yesterday, you know?'_

She _has_ been avoiding him. She neglected his need of comfort, the need of someone to listen to him, and she turned him down every time. And when she did spare him the moment, she didn't seek sympathy to give to the boy; instead she perceived things to be her own selfish case: Being closer to Enma was what she was always aiming for. Enma and Tsuna had some things in common, so she took it as if they could only understand each other, but even so, why didn't she spare a chance with Yamamoto?

Yamamoto Takeshi: the boy who has everything. Sawada Tsuna: the girl who has none. But at least she does have something: the familiarity of a bond—Reborn gave that to her. He had given her a sense of what might seem like vague friendship, but friendship nevertheless. And that kept her going.

But Yamamoto? Despite the popularity, fame, personality, and looks, he probably never experienced that attachment that Tsuna had. And every time he confronted her, she shunned him.

He doesn't need anything else. He's too spoiled. He never knew how it felt to be Dame-Tsuna. To be alone. To be weak. To be useless. He never knew.

That's what she always believed, and never did give a vice-versa perspective. What did she knew about Yamamoto? He might not be that awesome baseball-star bathing in victory and glory. He might be in pain and had been sheltering that pain. He probably doesn't even realize it. He didn't confide to anyone else and could be dying because of it.

And she turned her back on him.

But she never saw herself to be someone who can turn his life around. She always saw herself to be someone who can receive the help to turn her life around. After all, what power does she possess to save someone? However, perhaps the comfort she can give can save him. And she never took the chance because she believed that he moved on and wanted to remain oblivious to it, but it still clung onto him like a parasite, sucking away his hopes.

Why did she not let Yamamoto in? Why did she turn away from him? Why avoid him? Why was she aggravated when it seemed that he was in need of something? Why couldn't she care?

"Because…because I was unsure myself... I was afraid to let people in my life, even though I tried so hard to break that barrier," she said, her voice wavering because of the secured confession. "I was jealous of you because you easily allowed people in, but I sheltered my isolation. And th-throughout I-I have detested being alone…but never did I go any further than simple kind deeds. I was jealous of you because you go further and lead! I didn't. And I was jealous of you because you had everything you needed: friends, popularity, love…I'm foreign to all that. I believed that you didn't deserve anything else…that you were too pigheaded, so I walked away from you. But I was oblivious to what you really needed.

"I….I'm sorry…Yamamoto…I really am. I shouldn't have left you. I should have acknowledged you! I should have, just as I want everyone else to acknowledge me as Tsuna, not Dame-Tsuna." The tears flowed more and more. "I-I-I…I want this to never happen now that I r-realize my big mistake. If I could go back in time and change that, I would do it. But I know that a miracle like that is improbable. So th-there's no turning back. And I know what to do now, Yamamoto. I really do.

She raised her head and smiled. "Like I said before, why you do this is because you feel as if you have no hope, finding no point in life. But I tell you, that's not true because there is always hope. You just got to pull through and find yourself who you are. I'm willing to support you. And for so long have I anticipated a day where I would have a true friend and have that sort of hope, just waiting and wondering. But not anymore." The tears stopped. "I want to be your friend, so will you let me?"

Reborn broke that barrier, and so now she will break Yamamoto's.

"Somehow, I felt relieved after you said that. As if this massive weight had been lifted off of my shoulders, no longer bounding me." His hand met her hand as he grinned what seemed be like the last thing he had done in a century. "I think that was the cure I needed."

It was a remarkable feeling when their hands touched and grasped hold. Instantly, Tsuna felt warm, felt so protected and strong and content. Was it the long last confession that she finally let out? Was it the knowledge that she eventually saved and befriended someone? Was it that Reborn had saved her? For all she cares, it could be all three.

When she looked into his eyes, they were blazing. No longer was the furnace cold and dreary, but cheerful and pleasant. Like how Yamamoto should really look like. And she wondered if her eyes looked like that as well.

And then something terribly ironic happened: the two fell off the roof.

Yamamoto's heels slipped off the smooth concrete and staggered backwards, falling. And with his tight grip on her hand, Tsuna was falling with him.

This was terribly familiar, in Yamamoto's perspective, excluding the rounds of gasps from the audience, of course.

Tsuna, on the other hand, wasn't registering the fact that she wasn't in contact with ground anymore. Knowing that Yamamoto had accepted her invitation, she was happy—she has a new friend to cherish from now on and that very thought had fogged her mind. Though, she was vaguely aware that something was wrong.

Belatedly, she was awakened from her stupor by the screaming and cries that erupted from the roof.

She blinked slowly and saw Yamamoto's widened eyes, glinting in shock. That was the last thing she saw before she closed her eyes tightly.

* * *

"Gah!"

Tsuna grunted as her body was tumbling through brittle yet sharp branches that snapped during her fall. A tear on the skin of her arm was made when it flung hardly against the rough bark, and she let out a wail of pain. It went on, the tumbling and the jabs of pain making more additions of bruises. Suddenly, the heel of her foot hit hard on what might seem as a very thick branch, and then her ankle was lodged in between the pits.

The next thing she knew, she was dangling upside down, the blood rushing to her head.

"L-Looks like the—the tree caught our fall, ne?" breathed Yamamoto's voice. He didn't sound far, so Tsuna tried twisting her torso to see where he was, but there was an intense strain somewhere on her body that prevented her from going any further.

"Y-Yama—Yamamoto?" Tsuna whispered. She realized that she was unable to be any louder than a hushed voice, a flip-flop of worry in her stomach was born, and then later more ache.

"Tsunayoshi, gosh, you took the harder way to get down, didn't you?"

She would have sighed from relief if she could. Hearing the hint of humor in his voice made things easier for her. "Can you get me down?" she whispered some more.

"I'll try—_crap_! My arm!"

"Y-Yamamoto?" she whimpered with concern. What was wrong?

Something had loosened around her caught ankle, and Tsuna was falling. She lost consciousness by the time her body met with ground.


End file.
